A quiet Place
by middleeartheart
Summary: *Sequel to Silence of the Lamb* She opened her eyes and gasped for air as the nightmare dissolved in front of her eyes. She remained frozen, staring at the wall of the apartment. Fire. That was the only thing she could remember.
1. Wake up

**Sequel to Silence of the Lamb. I rrrreeallly hope you enjoy it I will try to be very careful with what I do.**

* * *

Richard put on his hoodie as he walked through the streets of the Narrows. This infamous place gave him a particularly strange sense of safety. Of course one of the reasons was the fact that he was the Joker's henchman, and everybody knew that. On the other hand, he knew that the unspoken laws of the Narrows wouldn't allow anyone to rat him out to the police.

He almost jogged to the alley near Maroni's former bar and took out the keys to the warehouse. He glanced behind him once before entering the building.

He took off his hoodie and headed for the kitchen, grabbing a beer. He heard a giggle behind him and he turned around in boredom.

"Hey Harls" he said popping open the bottle.

"Whatcha drinking?" she said coming closer. She raised her head, sniffing the bottle playfully before her blue eyes landed on him wildly.

"Well take your own" he said and pushed her out of the way. He heard her giggle behind him before she went for the fridge. Richard shook his head and took a sip before walking to the far end of the warehouse. He hated that woman. Ever since the Joker picked her up from Arkham, he was literally waiting for the moment his brother got bored of her and told him to take care of it. Or until he just found her dead on the Joker's bed. He knew the Joker didn't like her either. She had just helped him escape from Arkham the second time he got in and now she was just glued to him.

Or maybe she was just a good lay.

He knocked on the door of his office and entered. He was working on something on his desk and he didn't even turn to him as he fell on the couch.

"So, what's the big event?" he said as the Joker stood up. He turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Eager enough Richieboy?" he asked "There's this uh, new guy. Pretends to be the Bat" he said crossing his hands across his chest and pacing around the room. "His name is uh, Robin or something" he snickered. "You think you can handle him?"

Richard sat up straight "You mean that short dude with the blue cape and everything? How did you get a name?"

The Joker turned to him with narrowed eyes "Oh please" he said. Richard rolled his eyes and took another sip. It had been almost a year from the death of the Batman and he had to say things were getting boring in the city. Even the Joker was getting kind of bored. It was fun to make people do whatever you want or test them every once in a while, but without a challenge, it wasn't really worth it.

"So?" he turned to Richard "Can. You. Handle. It?"

"Yeah but I thought you wanted a challenge" he replied.

"Copycats don't interest me" he said and sat back down on his chair as they heard a knock on the door.

"Mr. J?" they heard a sweet female voice. Richard rolled his eyes and fell back on the couch as his brother turned to him with an amused smile.

"What is it Haaarley?" the Joker replied.

"May I come in? I made you dinner" she said shyly.

"Tell her I'm busy" he ordered Richard who jumped up and left the room.

"Sorry Harls boss is busy" he said and with that placed the empty bottle of the tray she was holding. He walked away with a smirk. He knew that it wasn't that he was busy. The Joker never let anyone else see him without makeup besides him.

And Mia.

Richard frowned for a moment at the thought of the girl. It had been a whole year since she died. He had missed her himself. It wasn't that he knew her very well when she was alive but he never saw his brother act that way around anyone.

He put on his hoodie and left the warehouse enveloped in his thoughts. That was when the memories began flooding his head.

The image of the orphanage was clear in front of him now.

_"Jack wait up!" Richard yelled as he ran behind the boy. "Hey! We'll get caught!"_

_"Sh! Shut up!" the boy turned to him with glistening eyes. Richard obeyed as Jack broke the window of the third floor. "You coming?" Jack said. _

_Richard looked at him with fright as his eyes began welling up. _

_"Fine I'll do it myself" the boy said as he jumped out the window to the balcony of the second floor. _

_"Jack!" he shouted and then followed him. They were at the ground in no time as the lights of the orphanage began turning on. _

_"Move! We don't have much time" Jack said with a grin as they ran towards the exit of the orphanage. _

_"Mister NAPIER! " they heard a voice behind them. They both stopped on their heels and turned around to see Mrs. Jacobs looking at them with her green old eyes._

_"Fuck" Jack said under his breath. Richard looked at him in query as his brother spoke the curse. _

_"Where do you think you're going?" the old woman said grabbing both of them by the arm. _

_"Hey hey! Don't harass a thirteen year old boy! Two of them actually!" Jack mocked her. Her hand landed painfully on his mouth and the slap forced him to stop talking. Startled he looked at Richard who was about to faint with a "Did she really just do that?" expression on his face. Jack pushed the woman back and she shrieked in surprise as her foot found a rock. She fell back with a scream which was cut short with a cracking noise. The two boys looked at the woman and then at the pool of blood forming next to her head. _

_Richard felt his stomach turning and soon enough, he vomited his dinner and knelt down as his legs couldn't support him anymore. When he looked up, he saw his brother looking down at the woman with an unexplained expression on his face. He turned to him and gave him a huge grin before approaching him and patting him on the back. _

_"Come on. Let's get out of here"_

* * *

Richard looked at the time as he threw his cigarette out of the window of the black SUV. He kept his eyes on his men that were now robbing the small minimarket and beating the owner to the ground. He had chosen a quiet neighborhood and he was sure that one of the people would call the police. If that Robin guy was on their frequency, he would be here soon enough. If not and the police came, well, the men would have to get caught.

And of course they didn't know that.

He smiled to himself as he saw the dark figure falling from the sky and landing on the rooftop. He climbed down with agility as Richard grabbed his gun and turned to the back sit.

"Let's roll" he told his men and they all jumped out of the car and ran to the building. When they got in, Robin had already taken out two of the robbers.

They began taking fire as the figure jumped behind some boxes.

"Hey!" Richard said to his men. They stopped shooting and approached the boxes slowly. "Tik tok tik tok" Richard said as they got even closer. But before he could even think about pulling the trigger, he felt a strong force pulling him to the ground as his head connected forcefully with concrete.

Through his dizziness, he could hear his men's agonizing screams as the figure fought them off. He looked around him fanatically, finally understanding that this man was something off his league. He got up and ran to the exit as few more men followed him. In a distance he could hear police cars approaching as they got in the SUV. The tires screeched on the road as Richard put a towel on his nose to stop the bleeding.

* * *

"What do you mean he's not a copycat?" the Joker said with his hands crossed over his chest.

"I mean he's not just another citizen. I remember how the Batman fought. That man fought like him. He is not as muscular but believe me, it's as if the Batman told him to do this"

The Joker frowned and then giggled to himself. He saw few of his men growing uneasy of that laugh but he couldn't bother.

"Oh and here I thought I've seen everything" he said "So gentlemen! We have a new Batman to take care of! I know he's a Robin but uh, don't you think Batman sounds more fun? Go out into the city! Burn it to the ground! Take what you can and leave nothing unturned! Until we have the full attention of our new friend!"

"YEAH!" said one of his men as they got up and ran out of the warehouse in triumph. Richard turned to him.

"What?" he said as the Joker was giggling.

"He never diiiied" the man said with another giggle "He wouldn't have had time to teach anything to this man nor tell him about his secrets and all. The Batman planned his own death to leave the city"

"That's a little bit farfetched" said Richard heading for the kitchen to grab a bear.

"Perhaps" the clown said "Find Crane for me. He and I need to have a little chat"

"Crane's in Arkham" said Richard as he returned with two bottles. He handed the one to his brother and sat down on the couch.

* * *

She opened her eyes and gasped for air as the nightmare dissolved in front of her eyes. She remained frozen, staring at the wall of the apartment.

Fire. That was the only thing she remembered.

No. It was not an apartment. There was white all around her. And there was this beeping sound. Over and over again. It gave her a headache.

She turned her head to the side and screamed in pain. She then opened her eyes in shock as no sound came out of her mouth. She screamed again and again and still, there was nothing.

Was she deaf?

She tried moving the rest of her body and felt shocks of pain radiating all through her as that earth shattering beeping became faster.

She suddenly heard a door slamming open and looking across the room, she saw two nurses approaching her fast.

"Calm down now missy. Calm down" they said as she looked at them in shock. She began pushing them away and tried to get up when one of them pushed her back down easily. It was as if her hands had no power.

"Heartbeat over 180" said one of them.

"Ok relax. Don't worry. You're safe here. It's ok. I'm Nora" said the nurse. She turned her attention to the beeping and saw the monitor with a heartbeat on it. She looked up at the redhead in shock and then down at her arm which was holding the woman by the sleeve. She let go of her and stared at it. She lifted the other arm and stared at it as well.

They shouldn't look this way.

Her whole arm was covered in scars. No. Burn scars. They ran from the start of her wrist all the way to her elbow. She lifted her sleeve, only to see that the scars kept on going. She brought her hands up to her face and relaxed when she touched soft skin under her fingertips.

"Don't worry. Nothing happened to your face. You look great. Tired, but great" Nora replied with a smile.

She frowned in confusion. What was her face like? She looked down at her hair and found brown locks resting on her shoulders.

"Doctor Brighton will be here any minute now. Just relax"

She rested her head back on the pillow and looked panicked at the two girls who were staring at her.

"Good morning ladies!" said a male voice. A young blonde man walked gracefully in the room with a huge grin on his face.

"Well hello there. I'm Doctor Michael Brighton" he told the girl on the bed. "You gave us a scare" he said. When she didn't reply, he went on "Do you know where you are?" he asked and the girl shook her head. He smiled and sat at the end of the bed "Do you remember anything at all?"

She looked down and thought hard but there was nothing but darkness in her mind.

"You were brought in the hospital in December of last year by a woman. You had suffered a gunshot to the chest and severe burns on your body"

She frowned and stared at the doctor as none of that made sense. The nurses looked at each other for a moment as the doctor went on.

"You uh, were very, very, VERY lucky. The bullet missed your heart and lungs. This happens once in a billion" he said with a snicker. When he saw that the girl didn't respond, he began questioning if she was comprehending what he was saying.

"Do you understand me speaking to you?" he said slowly. The girl nodded and so he went on "You were in a coma. All expenses are paid by the late Bruce Wayne. Do you know who that is?" he asked and the girl shook her head.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked again as the two women began getting fidgety. The girl shook her head again as tears began streaming down her eyes.

"Ok don't worry. Relax. This is very common for someone who went through what you went through. It will come back to you. And if it doesn't, we'll get you the help you need" he said with a smile and the girl nodded.

"Get her something to eat" he told the nurses before walking out the room with them.

"That poor girl" one of them said.

"She remembers nothing" said the other one.

"I don't think that she needs your pity right now ladies, only your food" Michael said before walking away. "Jameson!" he shouted to one of the trainees. The young boy approached him fast.

"You take room 113. Monitor the vitals and run some tests. Oh and contact Arkham Asylum for a potential new patient" he said as he walked to the other side of the corridor.

"Room 113? The coma lady? She woke up?" the boy said with excitement.

"Yes. Go" Michael replied quickly.

* * *

Harley moaned as he pushed into her hard. She was in all fours and he pounded into her like a machine gun. She could hear him growling as he pushed before his climax. He stayed there for a moment before pushing her hard away from him and onto the bed.

She turned to him and smiled as he got up. He didn't look at her. Sex with the Joker was rough. There was nothing sweet or tender about it and Harley knew that. But she didn't mind. He was touching her and that was good enough for her.

He put on his trousers and shirt as she stayed there watching him. His makeup was still intact cause, no kissing on the lips, and he was soon enough ready to take off.

"Out" he simply said grabbing the key of his room. Harley gathered her clothes quickly as cold sweat ran down her forehead at his command. She put on her t-shirt and left the room, hearing the door slamming behind her. She turned around and raised an eyebrow at the man in front of her.

"He doesn't give a fuck about you you know" Richard said.

"That's for us to judge" said the girl, nodding her head towards the closed door. Richard rolled his eyes and took out his cellphone as the woman hopped away.

The Joker ran a hand through his greasy hair and licked his scars. He put on his gloves and headed for the door when he saw something sticking out from under the mattress. He stared at it for what seemed like centuries before walking towards it slowly. He sat down on the bed and took the piece of paper in his hands. He opened it with hesitation and felt his throat going dry.

It was a drawing of him. Of his eyes.

He folded the piece of paper carefully and pushed it safely under the mattress again. Why did he keep it? There was really no point to it anymore. He shouldn't have. He made sure that he got rid of everything else but he could never throw this away. He had tried. Many times. But each time his hands came close to ripping it, something held him back. So he had just stopped trying.

He licked his scars and readjusted his suit before walking out the door.

"Time for work" he told Richard with a grin before locking the door behind him.


	2. Arkham

"Just look at my finger please" Doctor Brighton told her. She blinked slightly at the light of the flashlight directed into her eye and followed his movements. He lowered the flashlight and wrote something down before turning to her.

"So. Did anything come back to you today?" he told her with a sympathetic smile. She shook her head indifferently and turned her attention out of the window. It had been three days since she woke up and there was nothing she could remember about who she was. She occasionally got little flashbacks of a woman and some sort of port but she didn't know who she was and where it was.

"Well there is good news and bad news" he went on getting back her attention "The tests we ran yesterday showed complete destruction of your vocal cords. That's the bad news" he said taking off his glasses. "The good news is that this seems to have been a problem for a very long time and not from the accident. So psychiatric evaluation for PTSD is not necessary. I would recommend that you allow us to send you to a clinic for evaluation since you're experiencing memory loss, but you're not obligated to"

She nodded in understanding and turned back to the window.

"Well" he cleared his throat "We'll have to contact the clinic as soon as you make up your mind so" he took out a piece of paper and a pen and placed it on the bedside table "Whenever you're ready, just sign this" he said. She turned to him and down at the paper.

Sign it with what? Her name? She didn't know her name. She knew nothing about herself. All she was experiencing these past few days was severe headaches, depression and the urge to do something with her hands.

That was it.

She got up and went to the other side of the bed. She read the form as the door of the room closed.

ADMINISTASSION FORM: ARKHAM ASYLUMN

She stared at it and then signed it at the bottom of the page with a sigh.

_Room 113. _

* * *

"Next" the young woman said. She stepped in front of her wordlessly.

"So, your name is…" the woman began. She glanced up at her once "Room 113. And you're a uh-" the young woman looked up at the figure. "Size Small. Well you're tall so, maybe a medium" she said handing her the clothes.

The girl looked down at the orange uniform and up at the woman.

"Well go on" she told her until she moved. She walked in the bathroom that the nurse indicated and began changing. She took off her clothes and put on the uniform, which was actually too big for her after all. She finally glanced up at herself in the mirror and stepped forward curiously to inspect her reflection.

Was she pretty or not? She didn't know. All she saw in front of her was a face. She brought her scarred hands to her cheeks and pressed down as if it was the first time she felt human skin. She let her hand drop and sighed, as she took her old clothes and left the bathroom.

The nurse was now telling another girl to get in the bathroom. She approached her and gave her her old clothes. The nurse looked down at her arms and the girl saw her eyebrows rising involuntarily.

"Hold on" the nurse said turning behind her. She shuffled through boxes until she brought out a white long sleeve shirt. "Here. Maybe you'll be more comfortable this way"

The girl took the shirt and walked away. Outside the small room, another nurse was waiting for her. This one was older but her green eyes were kind. She smiled up at her.

"Hello. I'm Silvia" she said. She was in her mid-forties and she seemed like a woman that went through a lot of hardship in her life. She didn't know how she knew that, she just did.

"I read your file" she said. "I know you have trouble talking and remembering so how about I give you a name hm?" she told her. She stood in front of the girl and narrowed her eyes thinking to herself. "Yes. You are…hm….maybe a Dove…or a horse…" the woman said to herself "black hair…sad beautiful eyes" she said with a faint smile "but still so proud..crow..raven..RAVEN!" she exclaimed happily "But of course" she said rolling her eyes as if cursing herself for not thinking about it earlier. "You are a proud dark Raven!" she said. The girl snickered to herself at her remark and the woman smiled satisfied. "Come on Raaaaven" she said placing a hand on her back "Let me show you around"

They walked through Arkham as Silvia explained everything she needed to know about it. She told her that she was allowed to go anywhere she wanted as she was classified in the non-violent crowd but not on any other floors of the facility.

They took a stroll outside in the beautiful garden of the facility and got the chance to meet other people as well. They met an anorexic girl and another with bipolar disorder and she felt relaxed for a moment. Silvia led her inside and to the second door on the left. Room 7.

"Here" she said opening the door for her. The girl got inside and looked around the room. There was merely a bed, a desk and a chair and she noticed several pieces of paper on it. "It's not much but it's warm" Silvia continued. "You can get out of the room whenever you feel like it. But you have to be in here by 9 because the doors lock"

She nodded and smiled at her. She placed a hand on her chest as a gesture of gratitude. "You're welcome" Silvia said with a smile. "I'm also told to inform you that we'll be bringing a sign language teacher tomorrow. We can help you learn how to communicate since you've lost your voice" she said.

* * *

_Five days later_

Richard put on his hat, completing his guard uniform. He threw away the cigarette and got out of the van approaching the gates of the tall building.

"Morning" he said to the guard.

"Pass ID" the man said. Richard took out the card the Joker had made for him and gave it to the man. He stared at it and gave it back to him, pressing the button to open the gates.

Getting a job as a guard in Arkham Asylumn was easy. They just had to pay off some doctor, threaten a staff member and boom. You were in.

The tough part was convincing someone to let you see one of the most vicious criminals of Gotham city. Dr. Johnathan Crane. Richard was never font of him. He reminded him of a weasel. But his work in the city was good and the Joker had made an unspoken pact with him. They stayed out of each other's way and dealt with their own shit.

BUT. When the police arrested Crane, the Joker was thrilled. Not only did he not have to worry about anyone else stealing his spotlight, he also took over Crane's business and made them his own. He was waiting for the day he would need Crane, to offer him back his business so that the Joker could take care of his.

But after all the thinking Richard had done about how to get to Crane, he found out that the hospital had changed its protocol concerning patients. They were trying a more subtle approach where they all ate in the cafeteria with the nonviolent crowd.

Maybe getting to Crane was much easier than expected.

He walked through the door showing his ID card and was soon off to the cafeteria. He nodded at the other guards with eased as if he knew them and pushed the swinging doors open.

"Right" he told himself as he scanned the room. He fought hard to find the face he was searching for but he made his way up to him as he did so.

"Ah" Crane said as he spotted him. He was leaning back on his chair with a toothpick in his mouth. He smiled at him as he approached "If it's not the Joker's loyal dog"

Richard pulled a chair and sat down across the table casually. He gazed around the room impressed.

"It's not that bad in here after all" he said and Crane's eyes grew darker.

"Try staying here for more than two hours my friend. Thoughts come and go. And I don't do very well in tight spaces. Thanks to your boss, I have no choice but to be in one" he leaned forward with ice cold eyes "What do you want"

Richards snickered at his expression "Lost your humor Crane?" he said. When the man didn't reply, he went on "Let's get down to business"

* * *

"And how are you enjoying your stay?" Dr. Penelope Young said. The girl nodded with a faint smile, pulling down the end of her sleeves with her fingers.

"I heard that your nurse Silvia gave you a name. Does that bother you?" she said. The girl shook her head. "Well, I'm glad you don't mind but my thought is that this may not help you remember who you were. I mean, if someone keeps calling you a wrong name, you have no reason to remember your real one" she said.

She sank into her seat as Dr. Young spoke. She wasn't completely wrong. For a moment there, she forgot why she was here. Everyone was nice to her. She ate decent food and played board games, so in moments like this when her doctor decided to remind her why she was here, she felt as if all of a sudden she didn't belong here.

"We've also thought about hypnosis. We know you can't talk through it and help us help you but maybe you will be able to remember. What do you think?" the woman continued with sudden alarm at the girl's change of attitude.

She shrugged looking down at her hands which were half covered by the sleeves.

"So how are the lessons going? Sign language" the doctor continued. The girl looked up at her and nodded that it was good. "Well can you show me what you learnt? How about where are we? What city is this?" the doctor said.

The girl raised her hands and thought to herself for a moment before spelling out G-O-T-H-A-M.

"Very good!" the doctor said. The girl frowned in amusement. How did she know if she was right or not? She didn't know how to sign.

"Well done!" the alarm clock went off and the girl stood up. "Time's up. Make sure you get something to-" she closed the door behind her before Dr. Young could finish "eat"

She walked through the corridor slowly as nurses passed by her. She found Silvia talking to one of her coworkers and when she turned to her, she smiled.

"How was your session?" Silvia asked. "Good?"

The girl nodded. "Ok why don't you grab some lunch? I'll be with you in a minute"

* * *

"So let me get this straight" Crane said challengingly with a frown "I help you get rid of this new masked freak, and in return you let me out of this place and get me back the things you _stole _from me?" he said. "Doesn't sound very fair to me"

"On the contrary" Richard said. "When you got in here we took over your business, temporarily. If it was anyone else than us, you wouldn't have a penny in your name right now. We kept it safe for you" he said and Crane giggled humorlessly. "and now, you can have it back"

"I can have it back" Crane said in disbelief, shaking his head at the man's nerve. Richard was staring at him with a raised eyebrow with both elbows on the table. He had a smirk on his face and Crane wished he could smack it away. He sighed heavily and hastily and leaned forward.

"One" he said indicating the number with his fingers "One more trick from the clown, and you'll see no tomorrow. You got it?"

"Doctor" Richard said in an amused tone with fake amazement "Threats make me nervous. How can we work together if you're this way?"

"Don't, push it" said Crane with hard eyes. Richard giggled and got up.

"Tomorrow night. Be ready" he told the man before walking towards the exit of the cafeteria. He smiled to himself, finally dropping the act as he pushed the doors open. He turned to Crane one more time before leaving.

He felt something connecting with his body and then heard something falling on the ground. He turned his attention to the source and saw a dark haired woman on his feet.

"Sorry ma am" he said in a deep serious voice. He couldn't get caught now. He leaned down to help the woman up when she turned to face him. He felt the blood leaving his face.

He leaned down in front of her in disbelief and stared at the woman dumbfounded.

"Mia?" he said.

The girl merely stared at him, confusion written all over her face. "It's me" he said in a whisper. Mia just kept staring, locking eyes with him hard.

She didn't know him. But the way he looked at her made her feel like she did. He was staring at her in pure awe and if he was someone she knew, that was a logical thing to do after being in a coma for a year.

She shook her head to make him understand that she didn't know him. The man frowned and she saw he started getting angry.

"What? You don't know who I am? Would you dare telling that to Jack?" he said, slightly raising his tone.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She kept shaking her head in pure confusion as he stared at her. He leaned back a little bit.

"Are you, Mia Dawes?" he said. Mia locked eyes with him again and did the only thing she knew how to do now. Tell the truth. She shrugged saying "_I don't know" _and the man just stared at her. He looked down at her arms and suddenly grabbed her hand lifting her sleeve. She gasped and pulled back her hand frightened, but not before he got a good glimpse at her scars.

"Hey! Careful there!" he heard a voice across the corridor. A nurse came rushing towards them and knelt down next to the figure.

"Sir, watch where you're going next time, will ya?" the nurse said coldly. Richard stared at Mia in suspicion for a little while longer before raising his eyebrow. He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention" he said.

"Raven why don't you go get something to eat hm?" the nurse told the girl. She nodded and moved towards the cafeteria, but not before glancing at the man one last time.

"That's a nice name. Raven" said Richard at the woman. She turned to him coldly.

"Thank you"

"Why would you thank me?"

The nurse closed her eyes and shook her head as if she'd been in a trance "Sorry, it's-" she began "I gave her the name so. The girl doesn't remember a thing" she said and with that walked away.

Richard glanced back at the door of the cafeteria and then followed the nurse to the other side of the corridor. "Not a thing?" he asked. The woman looked up at him, obviously catching on to his sudden interest.

"No" she simply said.

"Poor thing" he said. But before he could ask anything else the woman interrupted him.

"Listen I'm working and I'm married. So if you please" she said, indicating for him to move out of the way. Richard stared at her as he moved, not sure if he'd just been rejected without even trying. He shook his head and headed for the exit.

He had to make a phone call.


	3. Hide and Seek

_She walked through a foggy field as her hair flowed behind her like water. There was no sound but the rustling of grass around her. She saw someone standing at the edge of the field, staring at her. _

_"Hey!" she shouted as she walked towards the tall figure._

_"Do you know where we are?" she asked again. The faceless figure stared at her as the sky grew darker. She hadn't noticed that there were no stars. _

_She hadn't even noticed it was nighttime. _

_She tried moving but her feet were stuck. She looked down where her legs were submerged into mud and struggled to lift one of them. She failed. She tried again, turning to the motionless figure in front of her. _

_"Help me!" she shouted as she was suddenly felt moisture up to her waist. She heard water coming from all around her and as the first droplet touched her skin, a bone shuttering scream left her mouth. She could feel her entire body burning up as the water enveloped her completely. She turned up to the figure which was now on its knees, leaning over her. _

_And suddenly, it was quiet. She could no longer feel, she could no longer see, she didn't even remember where she was. All she heard was a little whisper. _

_"I won't leave"_

Mia woke up with her heart thundering in her chest. She sat up and gasped for air as a chill ran through her body. She felt tears streaming down her eyes as her breathing became heavier. She tried taking some deep breaths to ease the memory of the nightmare. What was it again?

She frowned and thought hard. She just had a dream. But what was it? There was this field. And…

Mia glanced at the paper on the desk and jumped up. She had to write it down or else she would forget. She could already feel it slipping away. There was a field and a man standing at the end of it. And then all she could remember was water burning her skin.

She wrote down anything that she could recall which was not much. When she was done, she sat down on the chair and stared at the paper intensely. The events of that evening had mixed up her brain again. She didn't know who that man was but she had to see him again. Maybe he knew who she was before she got shot.

And why did she get shot? Was she in the mob? Or was it just an accident?

She shook her head and took another piece of paper. First things first. She wrote down the name Dr. Brighton gave her at the hospital. Bruce Wayne. If she could find more about him then maybe she could figure out what happened to her.

Second. Who the fuck was Jack?

* * *

Richard stormed into the warehouse in a daze. He had spent the entire night searching for the things the Joker needed to free Crane and calling his brother constantly. He was walking fast like an ogre, and ready to burst.

"Yo Ric, you want a beer?" he heard Bozo shouting from the living room type area. Richard continued walking towards the Joker's room. Harley was waiting outside with a tray of food as the door opened. He was in full makeup but was still wearing just a black t-shirt and a pair of pants.

"Well aren't you the best?" he said at Haley with a smirk as he took the tray from her hands. She giggled and got in the room hopping.

"I can show you other things that I'm the best at" she replied seductively as Joker's eyes landed on Richard.

"Where the fuck is your phone?" Richard spat out angrily and saw his brother's eyes growing dark. He never allowed Richard to talk to him this way in front of others so that first, they didn't know they knew each other on a another level and so that he could maintain the respect of his men. But Richard couldn't give a fuck at that moment.

The Joker smacked his lips and giggled, changing the mood.

"I was kind of busy working on the automatic hand grenades. Sorry for uh, not letting go of the trigger to answer" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you" Richard told him quietly.

"Did you talk to Crane?" the Joker said as he got in the room and he followed. Harley was laying on the couch observing them and licking a lollipop as she did so. She was wearing purple shorts with fishnet tights and a green crop top, revealing her flat scarred belly.

Richard always thought she tried too much.

"Yes that's not what I wanted-"

"Did he agree?" he interrupted him as he began chewing a piece of bread from the tray.

"What? YES! J that's not what I wanted to tell you!" he said exasperated.

"Then enlighten me" the Joker said dangerously staring at his brother. Richard looked down at Harley who was looking back and forth between them as they spoke. She was still licking her lollipop innocently.

"Alone?" he said. Harley raised her eyebrow and her head snapped towards the Joker.

"I'm running out of patience Richiboy. Spill the beans before it's too late for your head" the Joker said giving him another warning look. He didn't like the way Richard was acting in front of her. If she told anyone about the way they were talking, he would kill him.

"Really you want me to say it? Right now?" Richard said challengingly.

"I have been saying it for five minutes now what else you want me to say" he said with a blank expression.

"- yeah for five minutes?" Richard replied ironically. They were now talking over each other like two twelve year olds.

"-Not so difficult to comprehend that I'm in the verge of killing you-"

"You really want to you fucker-" they kept interrupting each other. Richard shook his head as his brother kept trying to win over the argument.

"Mia is alive" he said, successfully ending the conversation.

The Joker stared at him dumbfounded for a moment before narrowing his eyes in doubt. He was about to say something before looking down at a very interested Harley.

"Get out" he told her quickly and she got up without another word, leaving the room.

"What the hell is this?" the Joker said with a death stare.

"I saw her in Arkham. She has like a memory loss I wasn't able to recover much information"

The Joker was staring at him like a cobra ready to attack. He didn't know why he wanted to hurt his brother so much at that instant. After a moment of pure silence he talked with a harsh tone.

"She died in my arms" he said coldly.

"Apparently she didn't" Richard said and the Joker ran a hand through his hair to keep it from punching him. He didn't like being reminded of those things.

"Ric that's not humanly possible you're a doctor you were there!" he snarled.

"Look I saw her arm is like…covered with burn scars. The girl can't talk either. So, ok, even if this was just a girl that looked like her, there are too many coincidences don't you think?"

The Joker placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward as he let his head hanging. He then turned to his brother in pure hatred but Richard knew it was mixed with the fear of his hopes being crashed.

"If you're wrong-" he began.

"I'm not" Richard replied surely.

Outside the door Harley tiptoed away, making sure they couldn't hear her. Her heart was thundering in her chest at the idea of getting caught eavesdropping. She sat down on the couch next to Bozo, as he offered her a sip from his beer, his eyes never leaving the TV. She took it and drank as thoughts enveloped her.

Who the fuck was Mia? And why did he sound so angry when Richard told him all those things? She knew about a woman that had died, the Joker had told her when she was his doctor at Arkham. He seemed indifferent at the time, but now that she thought about it, she did came up frequently in their sessions. He never gave her a name or details about her. So she never understood how much he actually cared. More than that Mia did. She had forgotten him. Richard said she had a memory loss.

Harley raised her chin and her eyes grew darker. Then maybe she should get to the girl before anyone else did. If she didn't remember the Joker, she was no threat to her. And she was going to let no one touch him besides her. Not now that she was finally free.

"You are TOO quiet" Bozo said. Harley glanced at him as he was staring at her with query.

"Yeah yeah" she said indifferently, no playfulness in her tone as the door of the Joker's room burst open.

"Get up get up get uup! We have another doctor to free" he said and as he walked by the couch, he gave her a wink.

Harley giggled as she got up, making sure her knife was safely on her belt.

* * *

"So you don't want to try out hypnosis? I think it could work" Dr. Young said in disappointment drinking her first coffee of the day. Mia took the piece of paper and wrote down.

_I want to leave and try to find out what happened myself. _

Dr. Young read the paper and sighed. She rubbed her chin and looked up at her.

"Well, you have the right to leave. You decided to come and you are not a threat to others or yourself. But have you thought about where you'll go?" she said. Mia shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Then maybe you should stay until-"

Mia shook her head with a frown. The woman stared at her for a little while longer before sighing in defeat.

"Ok. Let me clear that out with Gotham's General cause you're enrolled under their authority"

The woman dialed a number and was soon connected with the hospital.

"Yes good morning it's Dr. Young from Arkham Asylum? Oh hi Jinny how are you? haha yes. Yeah actually one of your patients here has decided to leave so I've called you to cancel the payment? Yes. It's" she shuffled through paper "Patient, room 113. Yes. Yes I'll hold" she said and turned to Mia. "If you want to go and get ready to leave I'll take care of it don't worry" she said hastily before returning to the call "Yes? Hi it's Dr. Young from…yes yes"

Mia got up to leave the office when she heard fingers snapping at her. She turned her head and saw her doctor telling her to wait.

"I see. Ok should the patient come there to pick it up? Yes of course. Thank you" she hang up the phone and looked at Mia.

"Well I have good news. They said that when you were admitted to the hospital by a woman a year ago, a few days later Bruce Wayne visited and left a bag for you. He said it was for when you woke up, if you woke up and paid the hospital to keep it safe. So you should probably go pick it up"

Mia's eyes shined. Finally a lead! She nodded with a smile and left the room. She closed the door behind her and rushed to her room to grab some of her stuff. Soon enough, she heard the door swinging open.

"So, I heard some raven is flying away" said Silvia. Mia smiled at her as she stood up. "Are you sure you want to leave? She said and she nodded with sad eyes. Silvia looked at her like a mother looks at a child when it lies "Don't be that way little raven. Everything will be ok. I see the fire in you. you'll be fine" Mia felt her muscles twitch at the thought of fire near her but gulped and lowered her eyes to hide her sudden shock "Come on, let's get you ready"

* * *

Silvia had paid a cab for her to take her to Gotham's General Hospital since she didn't know anything about the city. As soon as she was in front of the tall newly built facility, she rushed inside, barely holding her excitement at check. She felt like she was going to finally remember everything. And maybe all those days of pure torment were going to be just a laugh with her friends when the time was right to see them again.

She went up to the second floor and to Dr. Brighton's office. She knocked and got in as he was working on something on his computer.

"Good morning!" he said with a smile "You look great" he said and got up. Mia smiled politely and stared at the man as he walked towards the door. "Follow me" he said. Mia did as she was told, rubbing her hands in anticipation. The doctor led her to a small office and unlocked the door with a cardkey. She stayed behind him as he entered and searched the small lockers embedded in the walls. She saw him pointing to the numbers until he found 113. He took out a small key and unlocked the locker, revealing a black handbag. He pulled it out and handed it to her.

"That came in a few days after you were admitted. I wasn't a doctor here then so I didn't know it existed. Luckily one of the nurses referred to it when you left"

Mia took the bag and placed it on the metal table in the room. She opened the bag with shaky hands as her heart began racing. She looked inside and gasped in shock but at the same time her heart dropped.

Money?

She took one stack in her hand and frowned. She heard the doctor shift position behind her as he got uncomfortable. And perhaps slightly intrigued.

"Well…I mean, it is Bruce Wayne that left them. So. It makes sense" he said clearing his throat. Mia let the stack fall back in the pile and searched through the money with her hands. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she almost pushed her head in the bag. When she finally gave up, she pushed the handbag slightly away and sighed.

Nothing. There was nothing else.

Well, she wasn't in the worst position. In there, there were hundreds of thousands of dollars, enough to get her somewhere safe to sleep and something to eat. It was ok for now. She closed the bag and took it with her as they exited the room, a very curious doctor by her side.

"So, I guess this is it" he said giving her his hand for a handshake. She smiled at him politely again "Take care" he said and with that she turned around and headed for the exit.

* * *

"Good evening ladies!" the Joker said as he pushed open the door of Atkham Asylum. There were five nurses attending to the rooms and they screamed in sheer terror at the sight of him. One of them ran to the fire alarm on the far end of the corridor but he raised his hand towards her and shot a warning shot next to her ear. The girl screamed and fell to the ground, covering her ears.

"Atatata, I wouldn't do that if I were you beautiful" he said. Five of his men were now running through the corridor with Richard shouting behind them.

"Third floor! 345 move!" he said giving them the instructions for Crane's cell. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot and ducked instinctively. He turned to the right, only to see one of the guards shooting towards them. Both he and the Joker shot back but he hid behind the front desk avoiding their bullets.

Richard approached the desk hastily. He had to stop him before he made a call to the police. But he didn't have to get very far. When the guard raised his gun, he saw a flash of red jumping acrobatically on him. The man fell down with a shriek as Harley raised her baseball bat and hit him hard on the head. Once, twice, three times, four. After that, every hit she made left scarlet drops of blood on her beautiful features as the man drew his last breath. She looked up at him with adrenaline in her eyes and walked towards him slowly, her heels clattering as she approached him.

"You're welcome" she said with a smile and turned to the Joker.

"Good girl. You wanna make sure Crane comes with us?" the Joker said approvingly.

"Yes pudding! Whatever you want!" she said and walked away fast. Richard was about to walk away with her when he felt his brother's hand pulling him backwards from the back of his t-shirt.

"Oh no you don't" the Joker said as Harley turned towards them for one last time. "Where is she?" he said.

"I don't know we'll have to find her" Richard said.

"I'm not much of a comedian but uh, that was definitely not a good joke Richieboy" the Joker said grimly.

"Look I told you I didn't know much information alright? Don't worry she's here somewhere on this floor"

They began looking through the small windows of the rooms on the first floor as gunshots echoed from the floors above. The Joker could feel his heartbeat racing, cursing himself for not being concentrated on the job. But he couldn't help it. Each time he looked through each glass, he could feel himself stop breathing. But every time, the only thing he saw were terrified patients staring back at him covering their heads.

Harley peeked at them from the end of the corridor, feeling her eyes burning at the sight of his intensity. When she finally heard Richard talk, her muscles hurt with delight.

"She's not here" he said. "I saw her! She was here!" he shouted.

"Who put you up to this?" the Joker snapped at him.

"What?" Richard replied confused. In a matter of seconds, the Joker threw him against the wall and put his gun under his chin.

"Who. Put you. up to this?" he spat hatefully.

"Jack I saw her! I wouldn't lie to you get the fuck off!" Richard said as he realized that his brother was in another place in his head.

"WELL WHERE IS SHE HUH!? WHERE IS SHE!?" he barked pushing the gun harder against his chin.

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW I'LL FIND HER!" Richard shouted back as he glanced down at the gun. His brother never threatened him with death before and he couldn't believe he was doing it now. "I WOULDN'T LIE TO YOU FOR FUCK SAKE!"

They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Crane appeared walking casually towards them, escorted by five of the Joker's men. Joker stared at Richard with burning eyes for another moment before releasing him. He had to do this another time.

"Ah here you are. I thought our date was postponed" Crane said with both hands in his pockets.

"Move" the Joker ordered his men coldly. He couldn't deal with Crane's sassy mouth at that moment.

They all began walking towards the exit as Bozo glanced at Richard confused. Harley followed behind them with a hidden smile.

"Sooo you didn't find her" Crane said with a smirk. The Joker stopped dead on his tracks and turned towards him as he spoke "the mute girl. She's the one you kidnapped last year, isn't she? What was her name? Mia wasn't it?" he said. The Joker glanced at Richard.

"Start the vans. Out. Now! All of you!" he shouted at his men and they almost sprinted out of the door. He turned his attention back to Crane.

"I saw her wondering around in here for a few days. She seemed, lost" he said as his glassy blue eyes stared at the Joker with amusement. "She was on the news when you took her. I never forget a face clown" he said.

"Do you know where she went?" Richard said, finally recovering from his shock.

"Well, maybe I had someone follow her" he said.

"You're bluffing" the Joker simply stated.

"Maybe I do. But tell me, why do you care? What is she to you clown?" Crane asked with understanding. The Joker's jaw tightened and his muscles twitched under his clothes. He had been careless with his anger tonight and his emotions were all over the place resulting to him catching on to them.

"Careful Crane" he said "We're not out of here yet" he threatened him with a raised eyebrow.

The man laughed humorlessly "Don't worry clown. I just wanted to torture you a little bit. And by the way" he said as he began walking towards the exit "You were right. I was bluffing" he said.

The Joker turned to Richard and giggled. "Well at least we know you're not crazy" he said. Richard turned to him in pure anger. He glanced around him for a moment to make sure nobody was looking. He swung his hand, landing a fist on the Joker's face catching him completely off guard. His head snapped to the side and then he turned to Richard in amusement as the rusty smell of blood filled his mouth.

"Fuck you" said Richard as he walked past him towards the exit.

The Joker stared at him for a moment before shrugging his shoulders "Yeah I deserved that"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	4. Old friends

**About a question I had concerning Harley Quinn, i didn't have Margot Robbie's performance in mind but I deliberately didn't give Harley too many characteristics so that you can create whatever image you want in your mind. The relationship they have with the Joker though is definitely not the one in Suicide Squad. That part is based on the comics where the Joker used Harley as his 'employee' and nothing more.**

* * *

He stormed in the warehouse and rushed to his room, knowing that Richard was right behind him. If he had to do this, he had to do it alone. He couldn't have his men spreading the word to all of his enemies.

"So what's the plan?" Richard said, closing the door behind him.

"Let me think" the Joker growled as he took off his coat and tossed it on the couch. He turned on the laptop on his desk and took out his potato peeler as he began thinking. He kept clicking it open every once in a while as he continued pacing up and down.

"What did you tell her?" he finally asked Richard.

"I was… startled when I saw her and told her that it's me. She kept looking at me as if I was some sort of stranger. I asked her if she'd dare to pretend like she didn't know _you, _and when she didn't reply, I asked her if she was Mia Dawes cause I actually started to believe that-"

"Huuuh you told her her name" he said as he opened the first cupboard. Richard frowned and observed his movements.

"Yeah…" he said confused.

The Joker took out a small device and connected it to the side of the laptop. He then took out another laptop from the third cupboard and switched it on. When it was ready, he sat down on the chair and rolled up his sleeves as he began typing. Richard stared at him waiting for instructions but when he realized that he was not going to give him any, he sat down on the couch and waited.

* * *

Richard woke up by the sound of his own snoring. He rubbed his eyes and stretched as he took in his surroundings. He got up as he realized he was alone in the room and approached the laptops. On one of them, he could see a black coding screen with a white cursor flashing on the end of the code. Richard had seen this before. His brother used to use that program to find searchers in Gotham city on the internet that had to do with the mob families. He narrowed down the searches and used them for recruitment. After all, if a person clicked on a link called "_why must Gambol die immediately", _should at least be up for consideration for Joker's team.

He tried to understand the code but didn't succeed. At the same time, on the screen of the second laptop, Richard could see a map of Gotham city. And then he got it. The Joker was using it to find her. If she knew her name, at some point she would try to find out about herself. So if she searched it, she would appear on the map and he could then find her. God help anyone else who typed in her name though.

Richard shook his head and left the room. He took out his pack of cigarettes and put one in his mouth as he left the warehouse. The night was still young and he hadn't left the warehouse for a drink in a long time. He was about to walk out of the alley and up the road to the bars when something caught his attention. He frowned and turned to one of the white vans parked in front of the warehouse. It was one of theirs. In the driver's seat, he could see a figure hunched forward, his head almost touching the stirring wheel as he did so. He approached cautiously, as the man remained frozen.

"Uh…you want help?" Richard said unsurely. The Joker stayed quiet as his hair fell greasy around his face. Richard cleared his throat and shook his head. He rolled his eyes and walked to the other side of the van, opened the passenger's seat and got in. He stayed there, not saying a word as he didn't know what was going on.

"Do you know what the first thing that comes up when you type Mia Dawes on the net is?" he finally spoke in a deep voice "Rachel Dawes' sister, kidnapped by the Joker" he said as if he was a newscaster. "Video footage" he said lifting his hands doing the quotation marks sign with his fingers. He giggled to himself humorlessly, and for just an instant, Richard was not sure if he was laughing. He lifted his head and let it drop back, as he licked his scars. He seemed defeated. Because he knew, that if she saw that without remembering who she was to him, she would hate him forever.

"Well, maybe she'll remember-" Richard began but paused when he heard his brother's muffled laughter.

"Nonononono" he said "Naha Richie. That's not how the world works" he said. Richard stared at him for a moment before lighting his cigarette.

"So what? She'll hate you for a while, until she remembers" he said in an attempt to let his brother see the bright side. But that was never the case for him.

He stayed silent as he pushed the hair out of his face. He seemed intoxicated and his eyes were glazing with fire.

"I'm overestimating her value" he said gripping the steering wheel with both hands.

"That's funny" Richard said "You've been many things, but you've never been a coward" he said as he opened the door of the van and got out. He threw his cigarette on the ground and smirked as he walked away, counting down from five to one inside his head. And soon enough he heard the door of the van slamming shut.

"A coward?" the Joker said. He was in full makeup and costume now and Richard assumed it was for another _fantastic _idea he had "Would you like to uh, elaborate on that Richieboy?"

"Well you just found out that the woman you-" Richard paused, recognizing the imminent danger in his brother's dark pupils and then continued slowly "_cared _about, is alive and because you think she won't want you back, you prefer thinking that she's of no such value to ya" he snickered as he continued walking away.

"Since she died, I have claimed the whole city for myself. You can play doctor all you want Richie but uh, even you know she's a liability" he said.

Richard paused and shrugged as he turned to look at him "Yeah you're right. Let's turn off the laptops"

The Joker crooked his head to the side "Huh?"

"You're right, she's a liability. Stop searching for her" he said again with amusement. When his brother didn't reply, he giggled to himself and began walking away. "I'll be at the bar" he shouted as he disappeared into the streets of the Narrows.

The Joker stared at him until he was out of sight and then got in the van slamming the door shut. He started the engine and drove away manically. He needed to think. Someplace quiet. Someplace he could think.

The docks would do.

* * *

Mia locked the door of the hotel room and put the key in her new bag, taking out the map of the city. It was funny how easy it was to get a room at a hotel without an ID when you had money. If you gave something extra, nobody asked any questions. Of course she was not trying to be cocky and live the big life, but, given the circumstances, she had to find a place to stay until she could figure out what was going on.

She left the hotel and wondered in the streets of Gotham for a while. It was already too late to go for a long walk but some fresh air would do her good. For the first time since she had woken up, she felt as if her surroundings were familiar to her. She felt somewhat safe and for a moment she felt her feet moving on their own, leading her through the streets of the city.

She suddenly stopped and looked around her, trying to figure out what she should do first. She took out the small piece of paper and read the words. She had to figure out who Bruce Wayne was, the man who left her the money. She stopped thinking for a moment as something caught her attention across the street. She crossed the road and headed for the small building.

Entering the internet café, she could see people working on the computers, others quietly and others playing some sort of videogames with headphones on. Next to the welcome sign across the room, she could see a 24/7 sticker hanging from the wall. She dropped her bag on the floor quietly and took a seat in front of a computer. Nice. She was willing to give two hundred dollars extra to someone to let her have a room at the hotel but couldn't invest on a laptop. She ordered a coffee from the menu and began typing.

First things first.

Bruce Wayne.

She then frowned and deleted the words. Her fingers hesitated for an instant. For some reason, she knew she wasn't going to like what she was going to find. She took a deep breath and typed.

Mia Dawes.

She began reading the results as the waitress brought her coffee.

* * *

Harley stared at the laptops in disbelief as she heard a car driving off with screeching tires. Her blue eyes shifting from one screen to the other. An animalistic exasperated scream left her mouth as she brought her baseball bat up and slammed it on the desk, effectively breaking off part of the wood. She panted as tears began streaming down her eyes. He was going to beat her up for this.

She didn't care.

"She fucking forgot all about you!" she screamed at the air as she collapsed on the couch in defeat. She didn't know why he was still searching for her. She gripped her blonde hair and pulled as she tried to ease her mind to think. She wiped her eyes and readjusted her bra, finally coming to her senses.

She always knew that the Joker was not a sweet guy. Ever since they met at Arkham, he was always in control and he wanted her to know that. Of course, when they had their sessions, he used to be so sweet with her… But after they got out, his whole demeanor changed. He became aggressive, violent and as if she was the last person he wanted to see in the world. There were times that Harley felt as if he was getting closer to him but everything were always shuttered by him asking something from her to do.

Her hurricane of thoughts suddenly stopped as she heard the sudden beeping of one of the laptops. She jumped up and approached the screen as she watched the blue dot flashing on the map.

No matter what, he was HERS and hers alone.

* * *

Mia watched the video numbly. She stared at what seemed like herself getting cut on the shoulder by the man as he talked to the camera. Mia brought her fingers up and into the top part of her blouse and touched her shoulder. She searched for a little bit until she found scarred skin under her fingertips. Not scarred like her arms and legs. This was deeper and defined. But she hadn't spent much time in front of the mirror and didn't get the chance to observe the skin on her shoulder.

She continued watching and when the video was finished, she kept reading the articles. From what she could understand, she used to have a sister. Rachel. And this Joker character killed her. Meanwhile the Joker kidnapped Mia and kept her prisoner until someone called Harvey Dent resigned and then he let go of her… and…

Uh she was so confused.

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. No. She had to keep reading. Maybe something would trigger her memories. Anything.

She kept reading as the light from the computer began hurting her eyes. Every single thing she could find about herself, was bad. But she didn't feel like that. She felt like she already somehow knew these things. Maybe not as facts but as feelings. Deep down, something kept whispering to her that there was something very important she needed to do. And she had to do it now.

"Mia?" she heard a voice behind her. It took her some time to realize that the woman was talking to her, but when she did she turned around startled. In front of her, she could see a short, blonde girl looking down at her with blue piercing eyes.

"Oh my God!" the woman said hugging her tightly. "I thought you were dead! We never found you!" she said. Mia felt very uncomfortable in the woman's tight hug but stayed there. She was obviously someone she used to know.

"What happened to you?" the woman said grabbing a chair and pulling her close to her. Mia stared at the young woman with sympathy giving her a weak smile as she grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down.

_I'm sorry, I don't remember anything from before. I don't remember you. _

The woman grabbed the paper and looked at it and then up at her. "You don't remember me?" she said with a disappointed look on her face. "I'm Harley. Harley Qu..Qulivan" she said "I'm Russian" she said and looked down "We used to work together, and…hang out" she said. Mia didn't recognize her. And that broke her heart. The woman seemed genuinely hurt by the fact that she didn't remember her. But it wasn't like it was her fault.

"It's ok that you don't remember" the woman continued "Maybe I wasn't that important to you" she said and Mia frowned in confusion. She shook it off and began writing down.

_Do you know anything that can help me remember you?_

The girl looked at the paper and then up at her. Mia could swear she saw her eyes glistening for a moment.

"There is a place where we used to hang out. We would grab a beer and sit and talk. It was fun" she said. Mia smiled and began writing down.

"We can go now if you want" the girl said. Mia looked at her and then gave her what she was writing.

_Tomorrow at 10? It's too late now._

"Oh no…" the girl said anxiously "I'm actually leaving tomorrow. I mean, out of town. I won't have time to help you then"

Mia sighed and then looked out the window as the night had now fallen over the city completely.

"Come on we used to do this all the time. Let's just go" she said. Mia gulped but took out some money and placed it on the table. She couldn't miss her chance. Maybe this was the way that would help her remember.

They got out of the internet café as the wind from the chilly night hit Mia's face like a whip. She followed the girl until she stopped in front of a white van.

Mia stepped back as she got in the driver's seat popping her head out the window.

"Are you coming?" she said. Mia walked to the other side and when she got in, Harley drove off.


	5. Mia means mine in Latin

"Did anything come back to you? I mean, how did this happen?" Harley asked as she drove into the night. Mia shrugged her shoulders apologetically. She had no memory of the accident and why she had fallen into a coma and she definitely didn't remember Harley.

"That's ok. I mean, these things need time you know? It will come back to you" she said and turned to her quickly for a smile "So, no flashing images in your head about someone? Anyone?" she said. Mia frowned and thought hard. Her first instinct was to say that she didn't see any faces. But she felt as if she did and now she was forgetting all about it.

"That's…too bad" said the girl immediately as she took a sharp turn to the right. Mia almost hit her head on the window and turned to her in shock.

"Sorry" said the girl sweetly "I'm a little bit of a free spirit when it comes to driving" she said with a giggle. Mia tittered momentarily, and then looked out the window. She obviously didn't know where she was but she could see the darkness of the sea spreading like a black blanket. The lights of the city reflected on the still water and looked like floating beacons. Mia looked up ahead. She could see boats floating quietly on the water as they approached what seemed like a port.

Harley took another hard turn and stopped the vehicle and immediately jumped out.

"Come on!" she said. Mia got out hesitantly. There was something about this place that she didn't like. Her eyes kept landing on the boats and the water as she involuntarily kept peeking over her shoulder. She felt as if there was something she had to be careful about.

Harley turned to her and when she recognized the look on her face slowed down. She took her hand gently and smiled.

"You remember being here don't you?" she said. Mia nodded as she gazed around her. There was nobody there apart from another white van parked on the far end of the port near the lighthouse.

"Well let me show you where we used to sit" she said and pulled her a little bit too harsh with her towards the water. They walked quietly as Harley led her to the rocks at the side of the industrial area of the port. They climbed on top of them and Mia began balancing herself on every rock as they moved. When she raised her eyes, Harley was already far ahead of her, almost flying over the rocks. She moved with agility and gracefulness as she turned around to her.

It took Mia only a second of looking down so that she would decide on what rock she should jump next when she heard a voice near her ear.

"Imagine being shot here and dropped into the water. No one would ever find ya" Harley said with a giggle. Mia thought that her tone changed and she looked up at her as she began moving towards the water. "Come on! Just a little bit further" the blonde girl said "And who knows, if you remember you might get your voice back"

Mia felt her foot rubbing against one of the rocks and she paused as she balanced herself on top of it. Then she froze.

Get her voice back? The doctor said this was a problem she had for a very long time. So how come this woman didn't know of it if she knew Mia before the accident? But at the same time, what else would it be? How did she know her name if she didn't know her?

One thing was sure. She had to get out of here. She was just alone with her with no help if she needed it. Screw remembering for now. Try surviving.

She watched as the woman almost danced on the rocks. She backed away quietly as her eyes never left the girl. She was not looking at her. Mia was in the middle of the big rocks, and would need some time to reach solid ground before the girl looked back at her. She kept climbing and jumping away, glancing at the girl constantly, her heart racing. When she was almost at the edge of the rocks, she heard the voice behind her.

"Hey! It's this way!" Harley shouted. Mia fell to the ground, face first, with a loud thud. She scrambled up immediately and began running away. She heard the girl giving out a loud screech and Mia thought her bones were going to shutter from the force she put behind the scream. She ran away as fast as she could and hid herself in the shadows of the abandoned ships on the end of the port. She panted loudly, feeling her heartbeat in her ears as she grabbed onto a piece of metal to balance herself up.

She kept moving as she hid behind one of the ships, finding her way inside it from a corroded opening on the bottom part. She could smell rust and the rotten scent of algae all around her. She peeked out from the other side of the ship, only to see that there was nobody on sight. The area was completely quiet and lit by the floodlights above them. The white van she saw when they first got here was still on sight and there seemed to be nobody inside. But it looked suspiciously familiar to Harley's van. If that was her real name.

Maybe this was organized. And it was someone that wanted to help Harley catch her. Anyhow, she had to be careful. She didn't know what to do. If she kept low, maybe she would make it until morning and then someone would help her.

As when her brain began processing this possibility, she saw the outline of the girl as she walked quietly through the ships. Mia jumped forward and hid on the outside of the ship, successfully making it before Harley could turn her head. The problem for Mia was that Harley was too quiet. She didn't know where she was.

Abort plan. She had to move. She moved quietly to the front of the ship and looked at the white van in front of her. It was parked maybe a hundred feet away from her. If she was going to run, she had to do it as quietly and quickly as possible. If the van was empty she would get in and if not, well then she had to pray she made it to the lighthouse.

She took a deep breath calming her nerves before bolting towards the van. She ran as fast as she could and was only twenty feet away when she heard the first gunshot. She fell down, startled. She wasn't hurt, it was something else. There were flashing pictures in front of her. The port. The ships. A gunshot. She took a gunshot for someone. Someone…

_Richard _the name popped in her head. The guard. She got up as fast as she could, hoping that her thoughts were quicker than her actions and that she hadn't wasted a lot of time. She was just about to reach for the handle of the van when she heard the door on the other side of it opening. If she could talk, she would have screamed. She almost fell down as she decided to make a run for the lighthouse. If there was someone inside, and Harley had help, she was definitely dead.

She ran up the small steps before reaching the door of the lighthouse. She opened it with difficulty as it got stuck and closed it behind her. The last thing she saw, was the woman running towards her and a flash of purple with the edge of her eye.

She locked the door and stayed quiet, panting. She looked around the dark, dump room and up the staircase. She began running up the stairs again, occasionally losing her balance and missing a step. She had spent a year lying down on a bed and one and a half weeks later, she was running away from some psycho who she didn't even know who she was!

She reached the top part of the lighthouse and looked around, not sure what she was expecting. The big floodlight spilled on the ocean as the round room with three huge windows enveloped her into a beautiful prison. The only thing she had to hope for was that they wouldn't be able to break the door.

* * *

The Joker got out of his trance as he heard the gunshot. He was leaned back in the van, not paying much attention to his surroundings as he thought. When he heard another gunshot, he took his own gun out of his coat and got out of the van. He raised his eyebrows in confusion as he saw Harley running towards him.

"Harley?" he said as she ran. The girl froze and almost fell down by the force it took for her to stop herself.

"B..Boss?" she asked with a shaky voice. "What are you doing here?" she said.

"Uh, what are you-" he began but he was interrupted by a loud noise. Turning around, he saw the door of the lighthouse being pulled close. He saw Harley darting forward then and towards the lighthouse.

"What do you have there, Harls?" he asked her curiously. That was funny. She never did anything without telling him beforehand. It was her way of keeping him interested because she knew he liked it when he was in control. But if she had actually chased down a person by herself just for fun, well hats off.

Harley stopped dead on her tracks and breathed in trying to calm herself. When she was better, she smiled and turned to him, trying to put on as much of a show as she could.

"Just some guy Puddin! Just having fun!" she said as she began walking towards the lighthouse.

"Ahhhh, let's see my girl having fun" he said as he walked towards her. He actually had a lot in his mind so a distraction would be beneficial.

"No!" she snapped at him. She then licked her lips and breathed in "No I'll…get nervous if you're there and I will…not do a good job" she said.

The Joker giggled to himself crossing his arms "Ok then go ahead"

Harley turned to him and half smiled before running towards the lighthouse. The Joker stared at the woman as she did so. Harley would never be nervous just because he was there to watch her kill someone. She was hiding something.

* * *

Mia heard the wooden door screeching open. She didn't know how they had unlocked it but they were in! She looked around her for anything she could use against her. She grabbed a metal bar from the floor and waited as she heard her coming up the stairs.

No. That was not a good position. She moved quietly towards the staircase and hid behind the open door of the last floor as she waited for the woman. She felt as if she was not breathing when she heard her taking the last step. Then she could hear nothing. She saw her shadow from the small opening of the door to the side as she walked in the room. She squeezed her hands on the metal bar as the woman moved inside the room. With a swift movement of her arm, she swirled the bar to her direction but not before the woman turned towards her pointing a gun at her. The gun went off but, to Mia's surprise, she managed to land the hit she had prepared directly to the gun, tossing it successfully out the window and to the ocean floor. Mia swirled the bat again but the woman ducked avoiding the blow and attacking her with her fists. Mia was much taller than her but the woman was so much stronger. She punched her hard on the chin, forcing her to fall down painfully. She was about to get up when she felt the woman jumping on top of her, her legs on each side of her hips. She took out a knife and Mia flinched at the light that reflected off of it as the girl brought it up to her throat. Mia gasped.

"You don't deserve him. You don't even know how to fight" she said spitefully.

"Having fun doll?" they heard a male voice from the doorway. Mia saw the girl's eyes widening in shock and she turned around to look towards the door. Mia was lying down and her line of vision was blocked by the woman's body on top of her. Harley looked down at her as her eyes began filling up with tears. Mia felt the blade cutting the skin on her throat and she hissed in pain as the girl began crying.

"Who are you hiding Harls? Hm?" he said playfully as he approached. Mia saw a man standing above them and when he looked down at her, her breath involuntarily stopped. His eyes were locked on hers and for a moment it felt as if time stopped. Even though she couldn't look away, she noticed that the man was wearing makeup and dressed in purple and green. And then she clicked.

That was the Joker.

Mia broke eye contact as fear enveloped her. She feared this man… Or better, she felt as if she should fear him. Her first instinct kept telling her otherwise, but she wasn't stupid. Harley screamed at her face before Mia felt the weight lifting off of her. She looked up startled as the Joker was standing in front of Harley who was crouched down gasping for air. He kicked her in the stomach as the woman cried. Mia felt her stomach turning along with a sudden need to help her but she had to help herself first. And now was her chance. So instead, she got up as quietly as she could and ran out of the room.

She almost fell down the stairs as she got to the bottom floor and out of the lighthouse. She began running away again, feeling as if her muscles couldn't keep up with the velocity her brain was hoping for. She kept running towards the abandoned ships as she heard a loud splash of water coming from behind her. The sound echoed in the silence of the night and Mia felt burning tears of pure panic streaming down her eyes.

Suddenly, without any warning, she felt her legs giving up on her. She was fortunate enough to already be inside one of the ship, but as she fell, everything around her went black. She tried to move. But nothing. She tried to think. Nothing. There was nothing at all.

And as sudden as it started, it stopped. She felt her muscles jerking and her vision returning to her. Well, that wasn't much help as she was still in pure darkness. She got up slowly and looked around her. Nobody was there, she was probably out just for a few seconds. She walked slowly through the ship, trying to balance herself on anything she could find. She peeked out of a small hole and stared at the lighthouse. It was quiet now.

She stayed there, glancing behind her every once in a while. She calmed her breath and closed her eyes sighing. The memories began flooding her mind.

_TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! TURN THEM OFF!"_

"_I'm sorry I'm sorry! It was an accident"_

_"You turned the fucking lights on…by accident!?"_

_"Mia get down!"_

She opened her eyes with a sudden sharp intake of air. She was sure she knew the guard at Arkham now. His name was Richard. She didn't know who he was, but she took a bullet for him. That, she could remember. She was about to turn around and walk out of the ship as it had been too quiet for too long, when she heard something creaking outside the ship. She crouched down and moved towards the exit of the structure. She had to get out of here. She stared at the white van for a moment and with two quick glances she ran towards it. Maybe she could drive away.

But she didn't get very far. She felt two strong arms pulling her backwards as they wrapped around her waist. She pushed and jerked as she was lifted from the ground, her legs dangling. She felt her back connecting to something hard and when she opened her eyes, she saw the man standing right in front of her. He was looking down at her with an unexplained expression on his face. His dark eyes were glistening like pools of liquid ebony and once again, Mia found it impossible for her to turn away. Without any warning, the man grabbed her by the shirt and pulled the shirt down. Mia gasped at the unexpected action, as the man stared down at her shoulder. She looked down and saw the J mark she felt with her fingers a few hours ago. When she looked up at him, she saw him leaning forward quickly.

She felt his lips on hers hungrily and she pushed away as his grip tightened. She punched and scratched his arms as they wrapped painfully tight around her waist, enveloping her into an iron hug. He brought one of his hands to the back of her neck and pushed forwards, allowing himself access inside her mouth. Mia stopped punching him and stayed there, dumbfounded, but not so scared anymore. Even though this was the man that she read had kidnapped and tortured her, killed her sister and possibly shot her, she felt..fine. Of course she was unsure of what was going on and why a psychopathic clown was kissing her, but her instincts were at ease. In fact, for a moment, she felt her eyes closing.

He broke the kiss and breathed out heavily, as he rested his head on her forehead. She looked at his lips with interest, as she saw scars expanding from each side of his mouth into a permanent scarlet grin.

"It's true it's true it's true.…For fuck sakes it's true" he whispered hastily with closed eyes, almost as if he was soothing himself. His hands were moving up and down her figure slowly and painfully, as he leaned onto her with his forehead.

Mia stayed quiet and motionless as something told her she shouldn't try to get away. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked down at her and when he did, he pushed her onto him harder. Mia turned her head to the side, not sure why. She felt as if she had to turn away from him because he was a murderer but it just didn't feel right.

"How the fuck are you alive?" he began. Mia looked up at him with sudden hope. Maybe he could tell her what had happened. Even though she didn't know if he was that kind to do that "ah… doesn't matter. I'll make you remember" he said with hidden anger in his tone. He let go of her then and Mia felt the sudden coldness of the night as he released her. She pushed back against the ship and stared at him, not sure what she was supposed to do.

Who was this man to her? Even though she knew about all the things he had done, it felt as if there was something else. And of course there was. The first thing he had done when he saw her was kiss her for God sakes.

Then, as easily as he had let go of her, he grabbed her wrist again and led her towards the van. Mia put all her weight backwards to stop him. She wasn't getting in there!

"Back to square one I see" he said almost to himself as a light giggle left his mouth. "Don't be difficult doll. I won't hurt you. Come on" he said. Mia stared at him for a moment until he wrapped his arm around her waist and began walking. She pulled away slightly, but not really, as he tightened his grip pulling her towards him. He opened the door and almost pushed her inside, as if making sure she wasn't going to break and then jogged quickly to the other side.

Mia pushed herself against the door as he got in and turned her body to face him. She wanted to make sure she knew what he was doing at all times. She was waiting for the engine to start but it never did. She turned to him tiredly and saw the man staring at the lighthouse. A sudden warm feeling filled her as she looked at him, not understanding why she wasn't panicking.

"Funny" he said with a smirk. And then without a word, he started the engine and drove out of the port and into the city. Mia stared at him as he drove, not sure if she should trust her gut or her head. Her head was telling her that she should jump out of the car to save herself, but her gut kept yelling to her to shut up and stay there. She sighed as a sudden yawn escaped her mouth. She felt her eyes getting heavy as she stared at him with her back glued to the door.

The last thing she could register before she fell into darkness was a warm hand squeezing her thigh painfully.


	6. You died

**Long time no see? Sorry i literally moved countries and it has been difficult. Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

She felt as if she was floating. Her head was moving slightly and it made her somewhat dizzy. God she was so tired that she couldn't even open her eyes. She could almost smell the world around her but she was not quite living in it. It was a distant music and a loud echo that returned to her ears like a lost memory.

And then suddenly, she felt cold.

She opened her eyes only to realize where she was. She was still in the car with him as he drove quietly. The car engine was roaring in her ears now and she stared outside for a moment trying to figure out where they were. As if looking at the buildings would help. She couldn't even remember her own name.

He was humming to himself. Just that. Quietly, but clearly. And it seemed to her that underneath those gruesome scars of his, she could see a faint smile on his otherwise perfectly shaped lips.

She sighed as she sat up straight, stretching her back.

"Ahh there you are. You _died_ for a moment there" he giggled and continued humming.

She looked outside only to see that it was almost dawn. How long had they been driving for?

"I thought you'd sleep better if there was just one murderer around you and not a whole warehouse of them. You know, since you forgot all about _us _Miss Dawes" he stated as if reading her mind. She could sense bitterness in the last part and she frowned in confusion. She sighed and looked outside at the streets again, not sure what she was looking for. It was just awkward being around him.

Finally, he took a sharp turn and they were both submerged into darkness. It took a while for her eyes to properly adjust to the new scenery. They were in a pitch black neighborhood with the only light source being the van's headlights.

_The Narrows _the words popped into her head.

There was a slight dizziness at the thought but she brushed it off instantly.

She felt even colder now and suddenly she had the subconscious urge to crawl near his arm as he drove. Mia frowned and looked at him for a moment. As he turned towards her, she swiftly turned forward and stared straight ahead. He changed gears vigorously and she felt as if she was suddenly shrinking. He was angry now but she couldn't tell why.

The van suddenly came to a halt and he turned off the engine.

"We're here" he said almost in a normal voice as he opened the door. Mia looked outside at the tall building that towered over her and gasped. She wasn't getting out there.

The door to her side opened and he stood in front of her in amusement now.

"Uhh, if you like the van so much, I can loan it to you" he said as he came closer to her seat, blocking her exit completely. Mia moved back slightly and stared at the tall building once more. She then looked back at him as he stared at her blankly, his head slightly tilted back. He licked his scars and moved his body to the side, allowing her to get out. She moved quickly, not wanting to find out what would happen if she didn't obey this time and walked quickly towards the door of the warehouse.

She was about to open the door as the cold was making her lips tremble when she felt a stinging pain on her arm as he pulled her back violently. She looked up at him only to get a glimpse of him as he moved in front of her, opening the door himself.

They got in and she realized it was very quiet. There was a sofa in the middle of the room with a TV on a small coffee table and a large staircase that led upstairs. But other than that, the room was completely empty and quiet.

Her ears rang as a loud whistle left the Joker's mouth and echoed in the room.

Suddenly, there were light footsteps from a small room to her left and the door opened, revealing what seemed like a kitchen. A man came out, wiping his blood stained hands on a towel. She blinked in shock.

"Ah you found her" he said and snickered. Mia looked up at the man in shock as a _second_ shock crossed her eyes. She knew this man! It was the man from the hospital who said his name was Richard.

"Is anyone here?" the Joker asked.

"Nope, they're all gone. And I can't locate Quinn"

"You won't for a while" he replied and licked his scars. The man stared at him for a moment before his expression changed from query to a blank indifference.

"You want me to take care of her?" he said signaling to Mia. She involuntarily hid behind the Joker, not sure what the man meant by_ take care of her_.

"No, I will" the Joker replied and Mia's eyes widened in confusion. Why was she here in the first place? Why wasn't she running?

And how did she know Richard?

"You go tell the others to stop looking for Quinn and find me a solution about that Robin guy. I don't like him. Not. One. Bit"

She kept inspecting Richard's face, trying to find a fraction of a memory to link him with her life. But she found nothing. She then turned to the Joker and felt the blood leaving her face. He was just…staring at her. No, not just that. Staring at her angrily. His face was calm and his features relaxed. It was his eyes that gave it away. And somehow she knew. He was furious.

He towered over her, leaving the space between her and Richard. He tilted his head towards him and licked his scars.

"Do you remember him?" he asked quietly with controlled anger in his voice.

Mia felt as if she was going to faint. She didn't know what the right answer was. Yes? No? Maybe? She gulped and looked at Richard, who was waiting for her answer relaxed. She finally nodded and waited for the slap. She really felt as if she was going to get slapped if not punched.

But none of that happened. Instead, she felt a warm hand around her shoulder squeezing her a little tighter than it should as he forced her next to him.

"See Richie?" he said with a giggle "That is _not _how the world works" and with that, he started walking, forcing her to walk next to him. After a moment, he let go of her shoulder and grabbed her wrist tightly but not painfully. He pushed open a door and turned on the light, finally letting go of her. He got in and took off his purple coat and gloves. He let his green suspenders fall to the side of his trousers and he sat down on his chair turning on his office lamp. For some reason, the scene seemed familiar to her and she felt a knot forming in her stomach as she stared at his back. He suddenly turned towards her.

"Are you just gonna stand there all day?" he said. She was standing, with arms wrapped around herself in the middle of the doorway, shaking.

"There is hot water if you wanna take a shower" he said standing up. He went to his closet and searched for something. Finally he took a pile of clothes and tossed it to her, hiding her successfully on the face.

"Help yourself" he said indifferently as he sat back down.

Mia stared at the room, unsure of what exactly was going on. He was helping her but she still didn't know why.

Well, the event on the docks gave her an idea but from what she had read about him, she refused to believe it to be true…

She walked towards the small door on the right quietly.

"Yeah that's the bathroom" he said as he continued writing something. She opened the door and closed it behind her, locking it. She looked around. It was rather clean. she took off her clothes and felt the floor warm under her feet. That's how cold she was.

She got in the shower and turned on the water and soon enough, it started pouring hot on her skin. She closed her eyes and sighed in relaxation, feeling the droplets warming up her skin. She stayed there for a moment, as the water became warmer and warmer…

_And suddenly she was burning. She was lying down on something cold and hard. Her chest was killing her as if something past through her and she couldn't breathe. Her arms were burning. Her feet her eyes. And she couldn't move. She couldn't-_

_There was something dark in front of her now. He was pushing her through fire until her face hit something cold. But suddenly she dissolved through this. It was water, with a terrible taste. Her eyes, oh my God her eyes were burning! She was screaming but nothing came out and the water was filling her lungs-_

She opened her eyes and moved away from the water with a gasp, almost slipping. She felt her knees giving up on her and she sat down in the bathtub panicked. She stared at the water as it hit the tub and evaporated immediately. She looked at the switch and it was turned all the way to the hot side. She put her hands on her ears and closed her eyes as she felt warm tears streaming down her face.

What the hell happened to her?

* * *

It took her some time to compose herself and take a proper shower, but she finally did it. She was combing her hair when she heard a knock on the door.

"Did you uh, fall in the toiler?" he said and Mia unlocked the door and opened it. She was just finishing up with her hair as he stood there shaking his head. "Women" he sighed as he turned off the light forcing her to get out. "come on. Get some proper sleep. I know you're tired"

Mia frowned as she left the bathroom. She was wearing some sweatpants that he had given her and she had to say, they were really comfortable.

She sat on the bed as he put on his coat, quietly. After readjusting his collar and putting his knives in his pockets –something that Mia found reasonable somehow- he licked his scars and turned to her.

"I'm going to lock you inside" he stated "I know you still have stubbornness reserved in that little head of yours but just stay put. I don't want anyone to see you here. If you need anything, Richard will check on you" he said and Mia was not going to protest. Not that she could but she did feel safer in here.

The Joker turned towards her and crooked his head to the side "why so sad little one?" he said almost involuntarily. She lowered her head as she felt her eyes burning again. He stayed quiet and seemed almost hesitant. But after a moment, she saw his feet getting closer and he knelt in front of her. He stayed there for a moment, before grabbing her hand softly and lifting her sleeve. Mia frowned instinctively and pulled back in a desperate try to hide her scarred skin.

"Don't hide from me" he commanded and she stopped fighting instantly. She didn't know why she was doing as she was told but she felt as if she had no other choice. He lifted her sleeve up again and stared at her burned skin. He then turned her arm inspecting the other side. His naked hands moved to her neck as he pulled down her shirt, revealing her burned shoulder. His hands travelled across her collarbone to her white neck until they reached her cheeks. She then made the mistake to look up.

He was so close to her, staring at her. She could feel her heart beating in her ears. She didn't know what he was going to do. And what she would let him do to her.

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head as his painted face shook with confusion "You died" he said almost to himself "how are you still alive? You died" he questioned. Mia gulped and her eyes flickered at the statement. His eyes then fixed on her lips for a quick moment before-

They heard a knock on the door.

"News from that Robin guy!" shouted Richard. The Joker looked at the door as if to kill it before his hand fell from her face. And she could finally breathe.

He stood up and readjusted his coat before his arrogant, nerve-wracking smile returned on his face. "Get some sleep" he said simply. "And don't get out" he commanded as he walked to the door.

"As if you're leaving my sight again" he said under his breath.

Mia heard the door locking after him, feeling her blood frozen in her veins from this statement. And she somehow knew, she was never leaving this place.

* * *

**Review please**


	7. Confusion

**Hey! Long time no see! So it literally took a world crisis for me to find some time off work to write and do something I enjoy. I hope everyone is safe! Stay the fuck home it's that simple. **

* * *

She stared at the cracked ceiling of the dim room for what seemed like hours. She was trying to write a summary in her mind of what was going on, register her emotions but nothing made any sense. First, she knew that the Joker had kidnapped her in the past and that he had killed her sister. Second, she knew his guard well and his demeanor didn't seem to her like a captor. Actually, none of them acted like captors…

That was the most confusing part to her. She didn't feel threatened, she didn't feel scared and their relationship with her was not threatening. Maybe she had helped them in the past? Or…

She covered her face with her palms. Who was she kidding. It was obvious.

She and the Joker were lovers. They were lovers!

Denying it would do her no good and she was smart enough to put two and two together. The first thing he had done was kiss her, he constantly touched her as if she was somehow made of porcelain and he kept talking about how she died and looking at her with those black eyes that she just-

Ugh! What was happening? How could she be lovers with her sister's murderer? It made no sense! How much of a horrible human being was she before losing her memories?

She got up and began pacing around the room annoyed. And what was all that about staying here and not moving? She didn't have time to lose she needed answers. Now! And not only no one gave them to her she couldn't even ask for them!

She heard the lock on the door and the blood left her face for a moment. She couldn't face the Joker at this moment. She was too embarrassed given their history.

But the door opened, revealing Richard looking at her first with apathy and then with amusement. Mia raised her eyebrow.

"Nothing it's just that uh, heh, you still have that stupid bitchy look on your face when you're annoyed." He snickered before getting in and closing the door.

"Do you need something?" he asked. Mia rolled her eyes. How was she supposed to tell him even if she did need something?

"Um…Then no…. Listen. Uh…" he scratched his head for a moment before lifting his hands. He began moving them around for a while as Mia watched his movements dumbfounded. When he was finished he dropped his hands "Ah shit" he said running a hand through his hair. He then turned to the Joker's desk and snapped his fingers.

"You do know how to write though yes?" he said handing her a piece of paper and a pencil. Mia looked up at him annoyed and he smiled.

"So, what is it you need?" he said. Mia gave him a fake smile and began writing. When she was finished she handed him the paper and he took it. It read:

_To get the fuck out of here._

"Uuuuh you heard the boss, it's too dangerous for you to leave. I can't let you go. Listen" he said heading for the desk "you'll remember eventually and it will be fine… I mean, don't worry-"

But Mia had already charged for the door.

"Fuck!" she heard a voice behind her as she turned the doorknob. She opened the door and charged outside briefly turning her attention to Richard who was scrambling behind her. she closed and locked the door behind her and turned swiftly with the intention of running away.

But before she even realized what was going on, her feet were dangling midair as someone lifted her up by the waist and placed her sideways under his arm and was now carrying her back to the room. She kicked and scratched as she heard the key of the room turning again.

"Of course you did" she heard the man carrying her say. She squeezed her eyes shut as she recognized the voice and gave up fighting. The door opened to reveal a very angry Richard. She was suddenly shoved inside, hitting the soft mattress and landing on her face.

"It wasn't my fault-" Richard began.

"She's a pain in the ass I know. Go" the Joker continued as the door closed behind him. Mia sat up on the bed and rubbed her cheek that hurt from the impact. She then turned her attention to him. He had taken off his coat and was leaning against the door with half closed eyes and a dangerous glimmer in his pupils. Mia pushed herself against the wall on the bed and just waited.

"I told you to stay inside" he said with an icy cold tone.

Mia shrugged and looked down.

"Look at me" he said seriously and she lifted her eyes obeying his command. "I told you. To stay. Inside" he repeated as his pupils grew darker. Mia felt like a trapped animal. She had nowhere to go and she didn't know what he was going to do. She didn't know anything about him apart from what she had read and to be honest, she knew nothing about herself either. They were lovers for God sakes how did she know that she didn't like some weird stuff like him choking her to death and slapping her across the face until she was unconscious or bashing her head with a bat?

No! Fuck that!

He began walking towards her as he removed his purple gloves. As soon as his hands touched the mattress Mia recoiled in herself, wrapping her hands around her legs.

And then hell broke loose. He swiftly threw a knife on the wall and growled as if possessed before standing up.

"FUCK!" he shouted with incredible force as he threw his office lamp across the room. She jumped in surprise, unsure of what was happening.

"So what do you think huh?" he finally said to her "That I'm gonna kill ya? Hurt ya? Huh? Is that what you're gonna do every time I even try to sit next to ya!?" he shouted. Mia felt her eyes watering in fear.

_Well this doesn't help _she thought to herself. And what was he talking about they were talking face to face before he had left what the hell was going on now?

"ANSWER ME DAMN YOU!" he roared and Mia jumped in fear unsure of what she was supposed to do. She felt the first tears running down her cheeks as the memory of him shoving her on something sharp popped in her mind.

He was suddenly next to her grabbing her hands "Say something!" he shouted as she tried to pull away but in vein. She was now crying silently, too scared to look at him and too paralyzed to understand what he wanted. He shoved her back against the wall with a growl, releasing her hands and standing up. Mia found her window.

She jumped up as fast as she could and ran to the bathroom. She managed to lock the door behind her just as she felt his weight banging on the wood.

He growled in annoyance before she heard the door of the room opening and closing behind him with force. The small of her back was glued to the sink and she was hardly even breathing.

She had to get out of here.

* * *

Jonathan Crane took off his glasses with a hidden smirk behind his icy blue eyes. He looked down at his mask, proud that he could fix it after all this time.

For him, it was just an experiment. A way to find the antidote.

Ok that was not true he just liked his job, so very much. And now that he was out of Arkham, he could get back to work with his business in the uh…prosperous goods of Gotham city.

"So, where is the ship?" he asked the man across the table.

"It will be in Gotham on Tuesday boss" he replied.

"Good good. Get me a meeting with the families. I want them to know who has the new production"

He got up and grabbed his mask heading for the end of the corridor. As he approached the closed door he could hear her squeaky voice throwing threats at his men. He opened the door, only to find one of his henchmen holding a bloody towel over his nose and Harley kicking and spitting on the chair that she was strapped in.

"Miss Quinn! What a pleasure" he said in a reserved sarcastic tone.

"Let me go you freak" she said spitefully.

He shook his head frowning "I'm afraid this is not possible. But, give me the location of the Joker and I will consider giving you just a light beating"

"In your dreams you bird scaring cockface" she replied.

"Fine" he said as he began walking out the room, signaling for his men to get on with it.

"Ok wait WAIT! " she said. Crane turned to her with amusement.

"Yes Miss Quinn"

"I don't know the location" she said quickly. Crane turned around to leave. "I'm telling you the truth! Every time he kicks someone off he changes places. It may not be tonight but he will change places"

Crane looked down at the floor, clenching his teeth before looking up at her politely "Then I suppose you can't help me" he said and turned around to leave.

"No no NO! I CAN! I can!" she cried out. "I can go back to him. And… and convince him to get me back on the team!"

"Now why would you, the Queen of the Prince of Crime of Gotham City betray the man you love so much?"

"because he betrayed me!" she said "He has someone else now! Someone new"

"Mia Dawes" Crane said with a smirk.

"Yes. Believe me I want to find them as much as you do. Let me get to him and I will inform you of their whereabouts" her blue eyes glistened "On one condition"

Crane shrugged.

"The bitch is mine"

Crane looked at her in disbelief. He didn't want to trust her but sending her away would do him no harm. The Joker already knew he was after him so to have her go would mean nothing.

"It's a deal" he said "You take care of his weak spot and I will take care of the rest" he said as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

"You idiot the Joker has no weak spots!" he hear Harley's muffled voice behind the door.

* * *

She didn't know how long she had been lying there. Her tears had just dried up and her whole body was not covered in shivers. The cold marble under her skin was like a hundred needles piercing her flesh. She closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. There was no way she was getting out of there.

She kept waking up at moments when she was no longer sure if she had fallen asleep or not. God she was so tired. Her body had been in a coma for the last year she hadn't recovered yet. She felt weak. Everything around her was now a blur. And dizzy, so dizzy.

At this point she couldn't get up even if she wanted to.

Between the mist of her thoughts and sensations, she thought she heard a door creaking open. She wanted to get up, to be on guard, but she couldn't. She didn't know how much time had passed before she heard rattling on the door handle of the bathroom accompanied by a light knock.

"Come on doll don't let me break into my own bathroom" the voice reached her ears muffled and distorted.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she saw light shining through the door and a pair of shoes blocking the exit. She blinked and raised her head with difficulty but in vain.

"Come on" she heard a low voice as something warm lifted her head up. He lifted her up carrying her effortlessly to the bed. "Stubborn human being" she heard him whispered as he placed her down carefully on the mattress. She felt something warm covering her body and she opened her eyes to stare at the door across the bed before he turned off the light in the room. She closed her eyes and thought she heard the water running in the sink and shuffling of clothes before she drifted off. She was half asleep when she felt him sitting next to her on the bed. She moved away slowly and painfully as her whole body was aching but he wouldn't have any of that. She felt something hot wrapping around her waist and pulling her close. He hands connected with the bare skin of his chest and her heart skipped a beat for a moment at the sudden embarrassment.

No no no she wouldn't do that with him.

But instead, she felt his hands rubbing on her back quickly. He was warming her up. She was now forced to have her head almost stuck on his neck as he glued her onto his body and to her surprise, she felt her eyes closing. She felt rather comfortable now but she was still so tired.

After a while, she felt his hands slowing down and they were now forming small circles on the small of her back.

She didn't mind. She was almost fast asleep when she felt as if he was going to say something. But, as if changing his mind, he tightened his embrace and buried his face in her hair.


	8. Heat

**Thank you for the reviews x hope you like it**

* * *

_"Hey!" she shouted as she walked towards the tall figure._

_"Do you know –_

_She paused and blinked. She knew what she was going to say but couldn't stop her mouth from moving. _

_"-where we are?" she asked. The faceless figure stared at her as the sky grew darker. She hadn't noticed that there were no stars._

_"It's nighttime" she murmured to herself. She suddenly looked down at her feet._

_They were stuck. She looked down where her legs were submerged into mud and struggled to lift one of them. She failed. She tried again, turning to the motionless figure in front of her._

_She had done this before. _

_"Help me!" she shouted as she was suddenly felt moisture up to her waist. She heard water coming from all around her and as the first droplet touched her skin, a bone shuttering scream left her mouth. She could feel her entire body burning up as the water enveloped her completely. She turned up to the figure which was now on its knees, leaning over her._

_And suddenly, it was quiet. She could no longer feel, she could no longer see, she didn't even remember where she was. All she heard was a little whisper._

_"I won't leave"_

* * *

She woke up almost sweating with heat. She was immediately met with a sweet scent in her nostrils and she pulled back for a moment, suddenly oblivious as to where she was.

She looked up and saw the sleeping man up close. His hand was under her shirt on her back and around her waist as he was pressing her hard against him. He had his legs entangled with hers and had to move back a notch in order to breath. After a moment, she realized that her own hand was on his neck with her thumb resting on his jawline. She removed it slowly and tried to push him away, slowly enough in order not to wake him but hard enough to make him move.

After a moment, he shifted and wrapped his hand even tighter around her as he rested on his back, rolling her on top of him. She gasped and looked at him, half expecting him to be awake. But he was not. He was fast asleep.

She rested her chin on his chest involuntarily as she observed his makeup free face. He had strong, beautiful features and she had to admit he was quite handsome. Despite those gruesome scars on his cheeks, he seemed the kind of guy that had all sorts of fun with women in the past. How he came to be the Joker was beyond her. From what she had read, he was a crazy maniac who just wanted to watch the world burn. And she had fallen for him apparently.

She knew this was odd. And even though she couldn't remember a single thing about him, not even that he had killed her sister, she had to admit that it felt nice to have his hands on her body. She only technically knew him for about a day or so and still she could tell, even if she didn't remember, that he knew her well. The way that he would answer her without even questioning if that was what she meant, only showed her that he understood her. And that frightened her.

_You've never looked at me the way other people do and I just, I need to hold on to that if I'm not gonna lose my mind._

She heard the words in her mind spinning as the image of a dark room filled her head. There was someone else there talking to her. Behind her.

She inhaled deeply as a sudden piercing headache hit her. She pushed away from him slowly, finally releasing her body from his grasp and sat up. She closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head until the pain died down.

She heard a sharp intake of air behind her and she whirled around. She saw his panicked eyes land to the empty bed beside him before he turned his attention to her. His features relaxed as he put on his mask of indifference and sat up on his elbows.

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head as if to say that everything was fine and lied back down. She lied on her side and faced the wall as she heard him move closer.

"Bad dream?" he asked quietly. She shook her head and closed her eyes, hoping that he would drop it.

"Memory?" he asked again. She sighed and rolled on her back, staring at the ceiling. She could see him staring down at her from the corner of her eye but she didn't meet his gaze. She didn't even know why she did that rather than just lying and saying no.

She closed her eyes nervously as he placed a hand on her stomach and pulled her closer to him. She felt like a ragdoll by how easily he moved her body to his liking. He was now clearly in her line of vision on top of her and she felt her cheeks blushing for a second. He crooked his head to the side and stared at her with an unexplained expression on his face before kissing her unexpectedly. She stayed there for a moment dumbfounded, before her eyes closed on their own.

_What are you doing? _She thought to herself wildly before she felt her own lips responding to him urgently. A low growl left the depths of his throat as he deepened the kiss, cupping her face with his hand.

_Stop. _She thought again as she pushed herself up, still kissing him, as if she could force more contact between them. His hands left her face suddenly as she sat up with her hand in his hair, as if in complete shock by her. She kept kissing him passionately as he lied back down while she climbed on top of him with her legs on each side of his hips. He stayed there stunned as her body moved on top of him, yearning for his touch before she felt him smirk against her lips.

Finally, his hand squeezed her thighs as he lifted himself up, deepening the kiss once more. He pulled her closer to him roughly and his hands roamed her back and squeezed her ass softly. He broke the kiss, only to attack her neck, placing soft wet kisses on her burning skin. She closed her eyes and ran a hand on his naked torso as her fingers ran across something rough. She paid it no mind, too lost and too hot to pay attention to any imperfections on his skin as he licked her torso with quiet moans.

He seemed to her as if he was trying not to break her. She could feel his muscles flexing and almost shaking under her fingers but he kept moving slowly. He lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards his enlarged member as her bare skin connected with his chest. She let out a gasp of pleasure as he ran his tongue down her torso and found her exposed breasts. She closed her eyes as his hands caressed her thighs and moved up to the skin of her arms.

Her eyes flew open.

She blinked and looked down as his fingers ran across her scarred flesh. She suddenly felt unbearable heat, as if someone was holding a candle next to her. only this candle was all over her. on her neck on her arms on her stomach. Everywhere. She was burning.

She jerked away and gasped as she tried to get off him. Suddenly, she remembered where she was.

What the hell was she doing? Was she about to have sex with him? Really?

He resisted for a moment until, finally, he almost pushed her off of him with a growl and sat up. She covered herself up with the sheets as she panted in fear while he put his feet on the floor and let his head hang. He was breathing hard and his muscles were tense under his white flesh. She stared at his back as her breathing returned to normal. What had she done?

He stood up abruptly, running a hand through his hair. He grabbed a black t-shirt and a pair of pants and shoes before storming out of the room, leaving her half naked and alone.

* * *

He drove aimlessly in the night with the cigarette in his hand. Being soft with her was something that he had grown used to even before her death. Fine. He couldn't hurt her anymore and she used to know that.

What he couldn't stand though was the blue balls that she had just given him. He had left the room so quickly in a desperate attempt not to fuck her to death as raping was never in his bucket list.

At least he got something out of it.

When he kissed her, he wanted to see if she would remember anything. Obviously she didn't, but her body did. For good.

If she had remembered all the way it would have been better.

How pathetic was he? He was supposed to be snooping around the city placing bombs and messing with the pigs down at GCPD not ran helpless behind a little girl.

Oh but it was his girl. His Mia. Back from the dead. And she wanted him. When he woke up and didn't find her lying next to him, he thought for a moment that he had dreamt the whole thing until he saw her almost crying on the bed. And she had turned to him when he asked her what was wrong. She wanted to talk to him even if she didn't know it yet.

He tossed the cigarette out the window, suddenly angry. How could she?

She forgot all about them. He had opened up to her and was not planning on doing it twice. All those things she knew were now gone. Vanished. Just because she had forgotten everything.

He parked the van outside the warehouse just as the sun was rising and paused as he got out.

The hooded figure turned towards him giving him a huge smile.

"Ahh.. you made it" he said as he approached the girl apathetically.

"Puddin?" she giggled as he came close to her.


	9. Jealousy

**I know this is a small chapter but I didn't want to delay the update even further. The next one will be bigger. What do you think should happen to MIa? Out of curiosity.**

* * *

Her eyes went wide as he strode towards her with swift angry steps.

"Wait! Puddin wait!" she said holding up a defensive hand.

"I thought I made it clear that you're ou**_t_**_._"

"Look" she said seriously "I shouldn't had hurt the girl. It's… I'm sorry I got jealous. But I'm okay now I promise!" she said happily.

Without warning, he pinned her back on the wall with his arm and took out his small pocket knife.

"Do you think I am that _stupid _Harls?" he snarled as he caressed her cheek with the blade.

"I have nowhere else to go! I wasn't even sure I was gonna find you here! Please! You threw me off a damn window why would I come back otherwise?" she said panicked. He stared at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow before letting her go. He smirked to himself inwardly and licked his scars.

"If you play any funny stuff-"

"I won't" she said quickly as her blue eyes stared at him straight on. He opened the door then and went inside with a grin as Richard was sharpening his blade. He looked up at them and frowned with annoyance.

"Why?" he said to Joker and shook his head when he just giggled.

"Now run along" the Joker said to Harley dismissively and she obediently headed for the basement where her former room was. When she was gone, his grin dropped and he turned to Richard who was looking at him accusingly.

"Why?" he said again.

"She wants something" said the Joker and sat down beside him on the couch. There was no one else around which made him much more at ease.

"And so you brought her here to get it faster? You know what she wants"

"The problem is uh, who she made a deal with. If we play our cards right, we might find out" he said casually.

"And if we don't, we get butchered" Richard replied. He stayed silent for a moment "I don't think you're thinking this through. Just kill her" he said.

The Joker shook his head "I wanna know who's behind this first. Then, I'll deal with her for good"

Both their heads turned as they heard the door of his room creaking open. Mia walked towards the two men, gazing around the room as she did so.

"I thought I told you to stay inside" the Joker said almost dismissively as he turned his head away again in boredom.

Mia blinked for a moment and lifted her hands slowly and unsurely. She pushed back her long sleeves that now covered her fingers from the times she kept pulling them down to hide her burnt skin.

_Hungry._

She signed and Richard gave her a small smile. The Joker raised his eyebrow and licked his lips, looking at her now with cold eyes.

"You can sign?" Richard asked.

Mia nodded _Little bit. Hospital tried to help. _

It took her more time than necessary to form the sentence as she was still not used to it.

"Kitchen right over there" said Richard and gave the Joker a quick glance before taking a sip of his beer.

Mia scanned the Joker quickly, taken aback by his lack of interest at her presence. She walked towards the kitchen slowly with a frown of confusion.

It was like two conflicting ideas in her head. One was the one that said that she shouldn't care that he paid no attention because she didn't remember him anyway and also, he had killed her sister. But the second one, was screaming in her head to grab him by that black shirt of his and just-

She breathed in sharply and closed her eyes as she opened the fridge. She took out all the ingredients necessary to make herself a sandwich and began preparing her meal.

The Joker licked his makeup free lips and took the beer from Richard's hand taking a sip. He then got up and headed for his room.

"Tell everyone to be ready in ten minutes. Lock the girl inside" he simply said. Richard frowned.

"The girl?" he mumbled to himself as the Joker slammed the door shut behind him. When he came out again, he was in full makeup and costume. He whistled loudly as he readjusted his suit and soon enough, there were footsteps on the staircase leading up from the basement.

First came Harley. She was wearing her black and red tight costume along with a huge grin upon her white painted masked face. She skipped towards him and he lifted his head just in time to see her leap in his arms.

He was about to punch her right in the nose when the shuttering of glass made the whole room fall silent.

Their attention turned to the kitchen where Mia was standing, her shirt half soaked in water, looking annoyed at her bloody hand.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Richard yelled and went to her, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the kitchen.

The Joker crooked his head to the side before turning his attention to his men.

"In the cars. Now!" he yelled and shoved Harley off of him before walking behind them in the kitchen. He crushed the broken pieces of glass with his shoe and approached them as Richard had her hand under the running water.

"Uh…what happened doll?"

Mia just shook her head dismissively with an embarrassed smirk on her face. He knew immediately that she wanted to avoid any more questions.

"She smashed the glass in her hand. Just like that! God it's like we're taking care of a toddler" Richard shook his head as he inspected the girl's hands.

The Joker had to give it to him. He was right. She was a handful at this state. She had only been there a couple of days and not only he needed to have someone watch her 24/7, but also he hadn't taken care of any of his business.

But all of that were fogged by the sudden realization in his head. The perfect timing of her coming out of the kitchen and the sight she might had seen.

He licked his scarred lips and looked down at her with a smirk on his face as he readjusted his suit. And then, without a word, he left the room.

* * *

It had been three hours since the Joker and his men had left. Mia was sitting next to Richard on the couch watching the news with interest. It seemed like the whole world they showed was never there and it had been reborn with her. She couldn't remember anything. Not the streets, not the building, nothing. The city was a new land to her. Even worse, the world was a new land to her. Her own self even.

These people there called her Mia, so that's how she knew it was her name. There was obviously an accident and she used to be lovers with her sister's murderer.

And there he was again popping in her head. She had only been there for a couple of days and yet she could always feel his dark orbs on her while his hands would never miss on an opportunity to touch her. When she was next to him, even though her instincts were telling her to run, there was a deeper part of her begging her to never leave his side.

And then this morning, when she saw _her_ touching him, she could only struggle not to grab her blonde little head and smash it on the floor. She couldn't control her anger when her fists started clenching until she realized she was holding a glass of water.

And it was already too late.

She looked down at her bandaged hand and tried to remove it.

"Don't fucking remove it!" Richard said exasperated. "Jesus do I have to tie you down in order for you not to do something stupid?" he said before turning his attention back to the TV.

"Twenty eight years" he murmured "I have been following him around for twenty eight years. And what am I doing in one of the biggest projects we've done all year? I am sitting on a couch, babysitting" he said as he took a sip of his beer. Mia stared at him as he continued "No, J, she is not a liability, you know you want her back" he said mimicking his own voice in an unstoppable tantrum of irony "Hey Richie you want to know what you're job will be this year? Making sure my girl doesn't bleed to death!"

Mia took an empty can of beer and threw it at him, hitting him right at the side of his shaved head. Richard turned towards her startled.

_I am not stupid. I can understand you, asshole. _She said much faster than she anticipated to. She looked down at her hands briefly, as for a moment she felt as if they had a will of their own.

Richard blinked in disbelief "Did you just throw a can at me?" he said coldly. Mia folded her arms and raised her eyebrow challengingly.

Then, his gaze softened a bit and he snickered to himself "I see that you're still somewhere in that vessel of a body"

Mia frowned at him, slightly taken aback. She turned off the TV and looked at him as he threw his hands in the air exasperated.

_Tell me something about me._

"What? Why should I know?"

_Please? _

Richard stared at her for a moment, realizing how drastically her signing had improved after the incidence with the glass.

"Well…uh…your name is Mia Dawes, you uh, obviously can't speak, you used to work for Wayne Enterprises, you used to have an apartment downtown-"

Mia shook her head _Do you have anything that is useful?_

"Hey look lady I was the one spying on your ass when Bane took you alright? Ask away about your life, health, even balance at the bank. But I don't know your psychological issues and what to do with them ok? Figure them out on your own" he said before taking another sip.

Mia stared at him for a moment before sighing to herself. She sat back and bit the inside of her cheek before turning to him once more.

_Who is Bane?_


	10. Come back to me

**Hey! Here is another break from reality for you. Please let me know if you enjoy the chapter! This is my favorite story all together with the first story as well and I really want to know what you think**

* * *

Richard turned towards her just as the door of the warehouse swung open. The Joker came in with a huge grin on his face and stared right at Richard. The rest of his men followed him quietly and Harley came in last, closing the door behind her.

"You seem awfully happy" he said as the Joker came close to him.

"Mmm" he almost sang as he started for his room. His eyes then landed on Mia and then back on Richard as they grew colder. "I told you to lock her inside"

Richard glanced at Mia once and gulped "You're right. I uh…forgot"

"You…forgot?" he repeated spitefully as the rest of his men observed their little exchange while walking to the kitchen.

There was silence now in the room as the clown pierced the man with his eyes. Richard was not a man to talk back when he had done something wrong, especially to the Joker. No matter their relationship, there was a reason why he did things and he didn't like being disobeyed. Finally, the Joker looked down at the girl but she didn't return the stare. She was looking across the room to the right, her eyes frozen and cold.

Realizing who she was looking at, he smirked.

"Harley" he said and turned around to look at the girl who was leaning against the wall "Come here doll" he said and her eyes lit up. She skipped towards him as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Mia felt her fists clenching. Not only because of what she was seeing, but also at the realization that he was doing it on purpose. It was clear now. And she was no fool.

"Why don't you uh, prepare me some targets downstairs huh? We can practice together if you want"

"Sure thing Puddin!" she almost screeched before she ran off towards the staircase.

"So uh… what happened?" Richard asked with a frown of confusion.

"Well" the Joker said sitting down next to Mia but not acknowledging her "It seems like uh, you were right. That Robin guy is trained. Oh the way he moved really reminded me of all times. The glory days… Such thrill!" he giggled "The only thing left uh, is to make sure our old friend comes back now that I know he is alive"

Richard frowned "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the batman will _have _to come back after I am done with this city" he said in a low growl. Richard smirked at him as the tension between the two disappeared and took another sip of his beer.

"Well" he continued standing up "I have a target practice to go to!" he said clapping his gloved hands once. He finally looked down to Mia who was staring right into space, obviously extremely irritated "You're welcome to join us if you want" he told her. She looked up at him coldly and then right ahead again.

"Suit yourself" he said under his breath before leaving the room.

"So…" Richard said uncomfortably as she heard the Joker's footsteps descending.

"Uh….about Bane…He was a masked freaked who- hey uh…sure that's a good idea?" he said hastily as the girl stood up abruptly. She walked fasts to the staircase and down the stairs. She could already hear something metallic falling on the ground with force but she didn't stop. She finally reached the floor and approached the half open metal door. She peaked inside, feeling the coldness of the room and leaned against the wall, observing.

"Nice throw puddin!" Harley giggled as the Joker landed a perfect strike on a piece of meat hanging by a large chain from the ceiling. She took another knife from the pile and aimed, throwing it with force and striking the top part of the meat.

"Harleeey!" he yelled "balance your feet!" he shouted.

"Yes sir" she squeaked fearfully as she took another knife, this time throwing it right in the middle.

"better" he said dryly. Finally he turned around to grab another one when his eyes darted up on the girl. He grinned and grabbed the knife "Well well!"

Harley turned towards her once before grabbing a knife and throwing it with full force across the room. it slashed the top part of the meat where it was connected with the chain, causing it to fall loudly on the floor.

Mia had her arms crossed as the Joker approached her with stalk-like steps. He threw the knife in the air and caught it with his right hand as he came closer to her.

She didn't move. She just started up at him as he was right in front of her now, towering over her. Then, with one swift movement, he turned the knife around and offered it to her.

"You wanna try?" he said slyly. Mia stared at him for a moment longer, before she reached for the knife hesitantly.

"Harley" he shouted, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Yes puddin"

"Pick that up will ya? And get out" he said as he turned around to face her. Mia peaked behind him and gave Harley a small smile of triumph, waving goodbye at her. Her blue eyes filled with menace and her fists clenched as the Joker walked towards the pile of knives on the table. Finally, she turned around angrily and walked towards the piece of meat. It was quite a show watching her as she tried to balance the heavy load while simultaneously trying to reach for the hook of the chain. Someone should help her.

But Mia was not in a kind mood.

Finally, she managed to hang it back before storming out of the room. She stopped for a moment next to Mia and glanced back at the Joker who was cleaning the knives.

"I will slid your throat one day" she whispered to her before leaving. Mia stared after her for a moment,, before turning her attention back to the Joker.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and licked his scarred lips.

"Shall we?" he said removing his purple coat and rolling up his sleeves. She frowned confused at his lack of temperature sensation as they were in a freezer and she could barely feel her fingers.

"So uh.." he said taking a knife "The whole point is uh the force you're going to throw it. If it's too weak you won't even reach the target. And if it's too strong…well… since you know nothing about knife throwing you'll probably end up either hurting yourself or throwing it directly to the ground right in front of your feet-uh" he said. "You will bring your arm in front of your eyes stretched like this. And-"

He lifted his arm and threw the knife, slashing the middle of the already butchered flesh.

"You try it" he said. Mia took the knife and stood in front of the target. It was too far. She didn't have much strength as it was. She looked back at him and he was staring at her with glistening eyes and crossed arms. "oh come on, just try it"

She sighed and looked at the target before lifting her arm. She aimed and threw the knife.

The direction was correct but it landed almost six feet away from the meat. She let out a heavy breath and turned to him.

_It's too far._

"Come on don't tell me you can't do it. A girl half your height did it" he said. Mia's face grew hard and she turned towards the target again. She took another knife and closed her eyes to calm herself before throwing it again, this time in a completely off direction. She took another deep breath and took another one with trembling angry hands. She opened her eyes before she heard his voice next to her ear. She flinched startled as he spoke.

"Aim higher" he said as he brought his arm up from behind her. She could feel his body almost aligned with hers and her breath got caught up in her throat as it did most of the times he touched her. "The people you'll fight against are probably going to be taller than you" he looked down at her "both eyes open" he commanded. "Now. Eyes at the target… Go" he almost whispered before letting go of her. she threw the knife with force and it slashed through the flesh of the meat. It was someone to the right and a little too high but she had gotten it.

"Again" he said dryly as she took another knife.

She continued that for the next ten minutes, sometimes missing and sometimes getting it right. With time, she was getting better, she could tell.

It was when she reached for another knife and found none that she realized she had used all of them. She looked across the room at the dismembered meat and then back at Joker to ask if they were done.

She gulped. She didn't dare ask anything by the look on his face. He was leaning back against the wall with crossed arms and his head tilted back slightly. His eyes were glistening as he stared at her and it seemed like the first night he had found her. She wanted to avoid his gaze. She couldn't stand the weight of it. But instead, she turned to face him fully.

"How could you?" he almost whispered. She blinked, taken completely aback. She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Forget" he said. "After all-" he stopped and licked his lips. It seemed to her like it was difficult for him to keep talking "You know you all live in your little perfect lives, thinking that it's like that for all. That it's easy to say things and talk about _feelings _and all that little things that keep this society from evolving. And yet, when _I _choose to do it, once. Once!" he repeated "You just…forget?" he said. Mia was so confused. She had no idea what he was talking about yet she felt her chest tightening painfully and a lump forming in her throat.

"I hate it when you do that…" he continued shaking his head "Looking at me like I'm some sort of stranger. Are you…" he said narrowing his eyes "…even in there?" he scanned her from head to toe once, stopping again on her face. He laughed humorlessly as his eyes grew darker "Nah…That's not how the world works. Look at you… you're just a worthless vessel" he said spitefully. "You're not her"

Mia blinked back tears in shock. She didn't know why but his words were like needles in her lungs. As if all those knives on the floor had stabbed her all at once.

"You should have stayed dead" he whispered the last part. Mia took a step back, physically recoiling in herself, as if an invisible force hit her in the throat. She finally felt tears rolling down her face and she let out a shaking breath she didn't know she had. She saw it in the cold air of the freezer as she finally felt her legs moving on their own accord. She approached him slowly and stood in front of him, unsure of why she was doing it.

To her surprise her gaze never wavered as he stared back at her. Finally, she saw his eyes relaxing for a moment as he took her hand in his.

"Scratch that last part. Didn't mean it" he said calmly.

_Yes you did. _

She signed with one hand. He shook his head and pulled her forward from the back of her head. He let his hand fall down to her shoulders as he ran his fingers through her hair. He continued caressing it until he reached the ends of her hair and pulled her forward gently by the waist.

Mia felt her eyes closing as she saw their breaths dangling in the air between them before she closed the gap that separated their lips. Her heart was racing in her chest as she grabbed his collar pulling him towards her.

She needed this so bad. She needed to feel his hands on her body. Even if she didn't know why, she knew now that she was in love with this man. She knew that he was a monster to everyone else but her. She knew that something had happened between them, stronger than anything in her life. She knew his taste, his body, his heat, his smell. And yet she didn't know anything about him.

And he wanted her here. it was obvious. There was no point in trying to avoid what had happened between them. The sooner she realized it, the better.

She could tell he wanted her too and he had no problem showing it as he unglued himself from the wall only to swirl them around to press her gently against the cold surface. She felt his tongue enter her mouth and she ran her hands on his strong shoulders before cupping his face involuntarily. He didn't seem to mind as his kisses became more urgent and his hands roamed her body painfully squeezing whenever he had the chance. He broke the kiss gently before placing his gloved hand on her cheek. He wiped away the tears that had formed before squeezing her jaw painfully. It was a slow gesture yet it grew more painful by the second. He pulled her forward just as she flinched in pain.

"Come back to me" he whispered dangerously before giving her one last hard kiss and leaving the room with quick strides.

The threat lingered in the air as she closed her eyes and rubbed her chin.


	11. Alone

Mia stayed frozen into place. She kept her eyes close as hot tears rolled down her eyes. It was almost as if her mind was overflowing with information that she couldn't yet absorb. She wiped her tears away and walked out the freezer with her arms wrapped around herself. She closed the door and went upstairs, finding an empty room. She peeked inside the kitchen to find no one sitting there and then finally made her way to the empty couch. She sat down and rubbed her palms together to warm herself. She sighed and put her elbows on her knees, leaning forward.

It was all so confusing. She didn't want to admit that she was jealous over this guy but yes. She actually was furious when that bitch touched him. Even though she had no right to ask it of him, she didn't want anyone else to be near him.

She leaned back and sighed, her fingers subconsciously running circles above her J mark on her shoulder. When she realized it, she frowned. She felt for a moment as if she was forgetting something. She almost could remember a room, a dark room. And then…

Ugh what was it already!

She got up and walked calmly to the door, unsure of what she was doing. She turned to the right only to see a set of keys hanging on the wall. She grabbed them.

* * *

She drove aimlessly through the dark streets of the city. She thought driving a van would be a problem given her condition but in actuality, it wasn't that difficult. It was quite relaxing. Sure, when she got back, she would probably get scolded to say the least, but it was nice to be alone for a while. She needed it.

She sighed heavily and cleared her throat. Maybe if she acted as if she could remember things she was going to remember them.

_Ok. _

_My name is Mia Dawes. I am…something years old. Which doesn't really matter does it? Age is just a number._ _I uh… worked at… I mean I worked somewhere right? Who doesn't?_

She slammed her hand on the wheel in irritation and felt the sudden sting of oncoming tears threatening her eyes.

She let out a shaky breath and tried again.

_My name is Mia Dawes. I am… twenty five years old. Twenty six on January 4th. _

She blinked and gasped almost losing control of the vehicle for a while. She stopped abruptly at the side of the road in a quiet neighborhood and turned off the engine. She was hyperventilating with shock. If she just relaxed maybe she could remember more.

_My name is Mia Dawes. I am twenty five years old. Twenty six on January 4th. I live..I live… in Gotham city…_ _and my favorite color is…_

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, starting over.

She kept with that pace for almost another fifteen minutes, but nothing came through. She opened her eyes and sighed. She felt so tired now. She was hungry, sleepy and didn't know how to get back to the Joker. And yet she didn't want to leave the car. She felt as if she had found a little safe space in all of this. Her alone time. She didn't want to have his black eyes following her every move and wondering whether or not she would ever remember him. She could feel that. And yet she found herself clenching her fists now at the thought that she was not with him, leaving Harley a clean target.

Her heart jumped at the sudden music. She sat up in shock as the melody kept ringing. Was that a…phone?

She tried to locate where the sound was coming from when it stopped. Maybe one of the Joker's men had left their phone here. Nevertheless, it had stopped ringing.

She relaxed back on the seat when the melody started again. Mia looked down at the gear box and at a button under the radio. She pressed it and a storage box opened up, revealing the ringing phone. She took it and gulped. It read BOSS. He had finally noticed she was gone as well as one of his vans. He could put two and two together.

She looked down at the device and without thinking, ended the call. She was in no mood to get yelled at or threatened. She just wanted to calm her head.

The phone vibrated. She looked down only to see the icon for a text message. She opened it.

**_Do never ignore my call again. Where are you?_**

Mia looked down and sighed.

_I am fine I just need sometime alone. I will come back in a few hours. _

She put the phone down and sighed but her muscles ached with adrenaline. She felt as if she should go back right now. as if she was going against the will of God.

She jumped when she heard another message.

**_WHERE. ARE. YOU?_**

He demanded.

Mia frowned in annoyance. With the untamed courage given to her by the distance she had with the Joker at that moment she typed.

_I told you I am fine. Leave me alone. _

She opened the door and got out the car, putting the phone in her pocket. She locked the car and began walking away. She just need some fresh air how was that so bad?

She took the phone out of the pocket of her hoodie as it vibrated.

**_You're pushing it._**

She clicked her tongue and put the phone in her pocket again as she kept walking. Soon enough, the phone rang. She rolled her eyes and took it out ending the call. What was she going to do anyway? Talk?

_Look, I just need some fresh air. I am at.. _she approached the street sign and kept typing.. _Meadow End Street and I am just walking. Will you please just leave me alone for a moment?_

She kept walking quietly, almost waiting for the next time the phone rang, But it didn't.

Finally, she relaxed. She observed the few people out this late at night, mostly groups of friends and some men. And she was a little concern that she was all alone but at the downward trajectory that her life was going in, this was the least of her concerns right now. She finally spotted a bench at the edge of the road overlooking the city. The area where she was in was high enough to see beyond the docks which gave an amazing view of the city and the port. She sat down and closed her eyes momentarily, taking in the sounds of the city. She didn't know how she knew it, but she loved this city so much.

It had hurt her, it had scarred her deeply. But it was home. It would always be home no matter where she decided to go in the world. It was her safe space and where she knew, she just knew, sometime someplace, she had found herself.

And then she lost it again.

And him. This unbelievable bond she felt she had with this…monster of a person. And yet to her he was just… him. Just J-

She frowned and blinked. She thought about it for a moment and took out the phone. She confirmed again that she had no new messages when she began typing.

_Is your name Jack? _

She typed, but didn't get the chance to send it.

The screeching of tires, made her turn around in shock as headlights blinded her completely. She stood up and stepped back in fear before she heard the door of the car slamming shut.

A figure walked in front of the lights hastily and Mia shrinked at the sight of him. She kept looking at his chest as he walked towards her, stopping at a safe distance.

"Get in" he said simply. Without making another sound, she walked quickly to the passenger's seat. When they were both in, he drove away.

Mia kept looking forward, too scared to even look up at him. She had taken a glimpse of his face and knew that he had no makeup on and he was wearing a black shirt and a pair of gray trousers. She glanced towards him and saw the veins popping out of his hands and his knuckles turning white as he squeezed the wheel.

"Give me the phone" he suddenly said and she handed it to him. She wanted to tell him somehow not to look at the phone while he drove but she didn't dare get close to him. Not in this state.

The Joker unlocked the phone and was about to delete their conversation. She saw his eyes narrow slightly and then his eyebrows twitched upwards once as he read the unsent text. He then deleted the messages and put the phone back inside the storage box.

He took a sharp turn and Mia had to grab on her seat in order not to fall to the side. They were now driving in a completely different direction. Mia looked at him in query. His eyes were cold and his scarred face icy.

"Don't worry doll" he said as he slowed down the vehicle "you get one last chance" he said as he stopped in front of a tall building.


End file.
